Banned Books Week

The past few months have seen a surprising number of book challenges* in the United States. Sherman Alexie's Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian, Lois Ruby's Steal Away Home, Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, and Ralph Ellison's The Invisible Man have all see recent challenges from parents and school boards. These attempts--some as recent as last week--at censorship are the reason that American libraries still have Banned Books Week.

There are numerous resources online to learn about book bans and challenges, but the best place is the American Library Association's Banned Books Week site. The ALA site lists the most frequently banned books and articles with powerful arguments for keeping difficult books on library and school shelves.

The UVU Library has a display planned, which will be available soon. But there are other resources we have on offer:

Children's Literature and Young Adult Literature

Most challenges are directed at children's and young adult books. Children's books are kept on the north end of the third floor. Young adult books are on the fourth floor, in section PZ.

Education Full Text

This database contains resources for teachers or parents who would like to find the latest research showing how reading (even reading challenging books) can help students improve in school and develop lifelong learning skills.

Oxford Encyclopedia of Children's Literature

This online reference book includes short synopses and author biographies, to help researchers learn more about the vast array of books available to young readers.

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* A book challenge is when someone requests that a book be removed from a library's collection. Until the book has actually been taken out of the library, it's not officially a banned book.