Libraries

Banned and Determined: WIU Libraries Host Banned Book Celebration

A group of books opened up and the text FORBIDDEN written on top of them in red

In honor of Banned Books Week, the Western Illinois University Libraries will again present "Banned and Determined," an evening of readings from censored, banned, and challenged books, on Tuesday, October 2, 2012 at 7 pm in the Leslie F. Malpass Garden Lounge.

According to Krista Bowers Sharpe, reference librarian, the program will feature Western faculty, staff, and students reading from works that individuals, at various times and places, have tried to suppress. This year's featured books are among the top ten most frequently challenged books of 2011, including Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, Suzanne Collins' popular Hunger Games trilogy, and the Color of Earth graphic novels by Dong-Hwa Kim. Banned Books Week will take place September 30 through October 6, 2010. This annual celebration of controversial reading—now in its 30th year – is sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA). For more information, please visit: http://www.ala.org/advocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek.

"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," Bowers Sharpe said. "Banned and Determined" is free and open to the public.

For additional information, please contact Tammy Sayles, Marketing and Outreach Librarian at TJ-Sayles@wiu.edu or at (309) 298-3298.