WebJunction

News and Information about Intellectual Freedom issues for Ohio Libraries

August 24, 2009
CHICAGO – Censorship in the United States is not limited to isolated pockets of the country. A new online map of book censorship shows that no area is immune from what is a national trend. The map  has just been posted on the official Web site of Banned Books Week, www.bannedbooksweek.org.

 The Google map displays more than 120 book challenges - from Maine to Florida and from Long Island, N.Y., to San Francisco - that have occurred since the beginning of 2007. It can be found at http://bannedbooksweek.org/Mapofbookcensorship.html.  The cases have been documented by the American Library Association (ALA) and the Kids’ Right to Read Project, which is sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression and the National Coalition Against Censorship. 

The Banned Books Week Web site was launched last year to highlight the displays and events that are mounted by hundreds of bookstores and libraries during Banned Books Week, the only national celebration of the freedom to read.  It includes a state-by-state listing to help people find displays and events in their area.  This year’s Banned Books Week will be celebrated from Sept. 26 through Oct. 3.

Bookstores and libraries may submit information about their Banned Books Week event to the Web site by using this link, http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/signup/.

Contact: Chris Finan
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression
(212) 587-4025, Ext. 15

Nanette Perez, Program Officer
American Library Association
(312) 280-4225
nperez@ala.org