DePaul University Library is pleased to announce the opening of its new Fall Quarter exhibit, Banned, Censored, Challenged: Reading as a Subversive Activity. The exhibit, which is currently on display in the John T. Richardson Library’s first floor Information Commons, explores the act of banning or challenging books, and the reasons and consequences behind such acts of censorship. Examples of book censorship in the United States and abroad are detailed, as are cases of challenged or banned books by and about underrepresented communities and instances of censorship in school libraries and classrooms.
This exhibit was conceived in conjunction with the American Library Association (ALA) Banned Books Week, an annual celebration of the freedom to read. The ALA notes the differences between a challenge and a ban as such: “A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.” Both are considered acts of censorship. According to the ALA, over 11,000 books have been challenged in the United States since 1982.
Join DePaul Library and the DePaul University Writing Center in celebrating your own freedom to read. Events will be held throughout Banned Books Week 2015, September 28th – October 2nd. More information can be found at libguides.depaul.edu/bannedbooks.
One Reply to “New Exhibit Exploring Banned Books Opens at Richardson Library”