Read & Tweet A DANGEROUS Book during Banned Book Week

Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association.

 Join librarians and first year students as we read "dangerous" books during Banned Book Week, September 27-October 3. We have gathered an extensive collection of much loved books that have been banned or challenged. These books are now on the lower level of the library. Come down and read a banned book.

We invite the entire University community to add to a conversation about banned books on Twitter and Instagram! Join our Fairfield-wide Banned Books Week discussion using #FairfieldBBW. During the week, students will be posting pics and videos of the banned books on the Library's Instagram account for research class at https://instagram.com/fairfieldulibclass/

We think you'll be surprised by some of the books on display- click here to see.

"The books that the world calls immoral are the books that show the world its own shame. " Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray (1891)


The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom details the top ten most frequently challenged books of 2014 :

1)      The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

Reasons: anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: “depictions of bullying”

2)      Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: “politically, racially, and socially offensive,” “graphic depictions”

3)      And Tango Makes Three, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Reasons: Anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “promotes the homosexual agenda”

4)      The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues”

5)      It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris

Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: “alleges it child pornography”

6)      Saga, by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Reasons: Anti-Family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. Additional reasons:

7)      The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence

8)      The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “date rape and masturbation”

9)      A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard

Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group

10)  Drama, by Raina Telgemeier

Reasons: sexually explicit

See past year's challenges @ http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks

#BannedBooksWeek #FairfieldBBW