September 25 - October 2 is Banned Books Week, sponsored by the American Library Association. Banned Books Week calls attention to issues of censorship while celebrating the freedom to read.

Tonight--Wednesday, September 29--the Free Library will host a Banned Books reading at 7:30 p.m. in the Parkway Central Library's Montgomery Auditorium, in partnership with the American Civil Liberties Union. Tonight's Banned Books celebration will be emceed by performance poet, Lamont Dixon, and guest readers will read selections from frequently banned books. These guest readers include famed folk musician John Wesley Harding; local authors Greg Frost, Merrie Jones, and Dennis Tafoya; Scribe Video founder Louis Massiah; and “Philly Poe Guy” Ed Pettit. The Banned Books program will also include a discussion of the controversy over banned books and the freedom to read.

In honor of Banned Books Week, the American Library Association lists the top 10 most frequently challenged books of 2009.

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: drugs, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

2. And Tango Makes Three, by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson
Reasons: homosexuality

3. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: anti-family, drugs, homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, suicide, unsuited to age group

4. To Kill A Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language, racism, unsuited to age group

5. Twilight (series) by Stephenie Meyer
Reasons: religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

6. Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

7. My Sister’s Keeper, by Jodi Picoult
Reasons: homosexuality, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexism, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group, violence

8. The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big, Round Things, by Carolyn Mackler
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

9. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Reasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

10. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group

You can also check out the ALA's full list of the most frequently banned books from 2000-2009. Do any of your favorites appear?

Tags: Banned Books, Events at the Library, reading

This week, libraries across the country are "celebrating" Banned Books Week.  Beginning in 1982, the American Library Association, along with booksellers, publisher and authors, has set aside the last week in September to call attention to those books which individuals and groups have attempted to censor, sometimes successfully.  See Monday's Philadelphia Inquirer for a fascinating article about Banned Books Week.  

Tonight (Wednesday, October 1) at 7:30 here at the Parkway Central Library, Gene Shay, host of  WXPN's The Folk Show,  with local artists, musicians, actors, and TV personalities will read from their favorite censored volumes in a program co-sponsored with the American Civil Liberties Union.

Here are links to just two of the titles that were reported among the most frequently challenged books in the United States last year.  Huck Finn, in particular, is a perennial visitor to this list.  The Free Library owns these titles, and many others that have attracted attention through the years in keeping with the library's mission to make "information and resources freely and easily available, providing the freedom to explore ideas without fear of judgement or censure."  (from Materials Selection Policy)

And Tango Makes Three

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Tags: Banned Books, Events at the Library