What do Catcher in the Rye, The Color Purple, Ulysses and Slaughterhouse-Five have in common? All are on the Radcliffe Publishing Course Top 100 Novels of the 20th Century and all have been the target of ban attempts.
The UST Libraries, along with libraries and booksellers across the country, are observing Banned Books Week 2009 from Sept. 26 to Oct. 3. First observed in 1982, the spirit of Banned Books Week is to remind Americans to not take their freedom to read for granted and to celebrate intellectual freedom along with the ability to read and express opinions, even if those opinions might be considered unorthodox or unpopular.
Throughout the week the UST libraries will observe Banned Books Week with displays in the O’Shaughnessy-Frey Library Center and the Charles J. Keffer Library, updates on the UST Libraries Facebook page, free bookmarks and an informative Banned Books Web page, which will link to a daily online banned books trivia contest. Each day’s lucky winner will be selected randomly from among participants who gave the correct answers and will receive a $5 gift certificate to the UST Bookstore.
The national event is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
