The Pendulum
NEWS
Thursday, September 25, 2003 • Page 9
Library holds banned book week
Adam Smith
Reporter
This week the library is spon
soring its annual banned book
week. The event, sponsored by the
American Library Association, “is
a reminder of the freedom to read
in this country,” said library direc
tor Kate Hickey.
The list of 100 books is a com
pilation of the most challenged
books of the last 10 years. The list
includes “Go Ask Alice,” “Anne
Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl”
and “Harry Potter,” among others.
Most of the books on the list are
books for children and young
adults.
The banning of books has gone
on since the beginning of the printed
word. In many countries today, book
banning is a way of life. Hickey
questioned such control, saying the
government needs to trust that its cit
izens will read intelligently.
“Just because you read a book
about communism, that doesn’t
mean you’ll become a commu
nist,” she said.
Banning books can have a posi
tive side, Hickey said. “I think it’s
a testimony to the power of books
that people want to ban them.”
Parental concern is often the main
reason books are challenged in
school and public libraries across
the country. It shows that parents
care about what their children are
reading.”
“It keeps everybody on their
toes,” Hickey continued. “Almost
all of us could think of a book we
think others shouldn’t read.”
Religion, sexuality and vio
lence are the main reasons books
are challenged today. Books about
witchcraft and the occult often
cause problems for public libraries.
Hickey said there has never
been a book challenged since she
became director. These kinds of
issues are often raised in primary
and secondary schools, she said.
So what’s next for books?
“I worry about the Patriot Act,”
Hickey said.
This act, passed by Congress,
allows the government to secretly
access library records and has
many civil rights organizations in
an uproar. “I know that a lot of
people are protesting against the
Patriot Act,” she said.
“I do think there is a trend in
this country toward conservatism,”
Hickey continued, “but I think that
our country is becoming more
multicultural.”
The Belk library has many of
the books on the list. Several of the
juvenile titles are not available,
however. “Everyone should read a
banned book,” Hickey said.
Contact Adam Smith at pendu-
lum@elon.edu or 278-7247.
What is your favorite banned book?
"Brave New World’’
Tarrah Goforth, senior
"Catcher in the Rye”
Josh Tanner, sophomore
“Of Mice and Men”
Meghan Ciatello, freshman
Students share the
title of their favorite
book that has been
banned in some of
the libraries in the
United States.
“The Diary of Anne Frank"
Jennifer Amundsen, freshman
“Catctier in the Rye"
Mark Gustafson, senior
Commonly Banned Books
“Scary Stories to
Tell in the Dark”
- Alvin Schwartz
“The Diary of Anne Frank”
“1984”
- George Orwell
“The Catcher In the Rye”
-J.D. Salinger
“Where the Sidewalk Ends”
- Shel Silverstein
“Of Mice and Men”
- John Steinbeck
“The Adventures of
Huckleberry Finn”
- Mark Twain
“Our Bodies, Ourselves”
Boston Women's Health
Book Collective
“The Dictionary of
American Slang”
The Merchant of Venice”
William Shakespeare
The Martian Chronicles”
* Ray Bradbury
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