Libraries

2009 Celebration of Banned Books

Image of a stack of books behind a lock and chains with the text banned books week.

In honor of Banned Books Week, the Western Illinois University Libraries present "Banned and Determined," an evening of readings from censored, banned, and challenged books at the Malpass Library, Garden Lounge, on Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at 7 pm. The program will feature Western faculty, staff and students reading from works that individuals, at various times and places, have tried to suppress. Excerpts from some of the most frequently challenged books of 2008 -- such as Philip Pullman's "The Golden Compass" and Rudolfo Anaya's "Bless Me, Ultima" -- will be read. In addition, selected passages will be read from perennially banned classics, such as Margaret Atwood's "The Handmaid's Tale" and Ralph Ellison's "Invisible Man." The event is organized by Krista Bowers Sharpe, reference librarian at Western.

Banned Books Week is an annual celebration of controversial reading sponsored by the American Library Association and this year takes place from September 26 to October 3. Western Illinois University Libraries' faculty and staff encourage all readers to join with the ALA in celebrating the freedom to read during Banned Books Week and at all times.

For more information about the "Banned and Determined" event contact Krista Bowers Sharpe at 309-298-2785 ext.1 or KA-Bowers-Sharpe@wiu.edu.