Banned Books
Week 2013 will be celebrated September 22 – 28. Banned Books Week
was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges
to books in schools, bookstores and libraries.[i]
The American Library Association compiles data each year regarding the number
of book challenges filed in the United States. A challenge is defined as a
formal written complaint filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed
because of content or appropriateness. The Office of Intellectual Freedom also
gathers data from newspaper articles regarding book challenges.
