It may seem hard to believe that many institutions ban certain books from circulation and forbid the reading of them. There are some obvious and famous examples of books being banned in school systems; such as Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn or Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species. There are also some not-so obvious instances, like the children’s books The Witches or James and the Giant Peach both by Roald Dahl.

In the last week of September, the American Library Association promotes Banned Books Week, an awareness campaign for censorship of media in today’s culture. This year BBW will be from September 22nd to 28th and Vassar is proudly participating. Within Main Library there will be information posted about resources that are “banned” and “challenged.” Additionally, bookmarks will be available for students to take, detailing the disputes of specific cases. Be sure to check out the displays and a book!

BBW began in 1982 by Judith Krug as a response to First Amendment decisions which applied to libraries, bookstores, schools, and intellectual freedoms. Teaching “the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature,” and drawing “attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society.” In 2012, ALA celebrated the 30th anniversary of BBW with an interactive timeline of significant challenges for each year.

The timeline can be found here: 30th Anniversary Timeline.

More information about BBW can be found at ALA.org and around Main Library!