Banned Books Week was celebrated from Sept. 28 to Oct. 2.
This was the first year that IU Southeast celebrated Banned Books Week.
As part of the celebration, there was a reading of some banned books on Thursday, Oct. 1, on the third floor of the reading gallery of the IUS Library.
The reading was an opportunity for students, faculty and staff at IU Southeast to be aware of their freedom to read whatever books they choose. One talking point was people in other countries don’t have the right to read whatever they choose.
“The main goal was to remind everybody that they should not take the freedom to read for granted,” Maria Accardi, assistant librarian and coordinator of instruction, said. “It is also to celebrate the right to intellectual freedom.”
Intellectual freedom is the ability to read, think and write without being afraid of censorship or being arrested.
Banned Books Week was started in 1982 by the American Library Association, which is the oldest professional organization for librarians. The ALA promotes many programs that relate to librarianship and intellectual freedom.
Libraries all over the United States participated in Banned Books Week.
The books that were read weren’t really banned, but instead were challenged or censored in either the United States or in other countries.
Accardi said that books are challenged because they contain sex, violence or profane language.
This was the case for many of the books that were read during Banned Books Week.
Some of the books that were read included “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell, “Tropic of Cancer” by Henry Miller, “Lady Chatterley’s Lover” by D.H. Lawrence, “Go Tell It on the Mountain” by James Baldwin, “Lord Jim” by Joseph Conrad and more.
The books were read by faculty and staff. They were asked to pick the books they wanted to read from a list online.
There were about 15 people in attendance.
“I was pleased [with the turnout],” Accardi said.
There was also an essay contest that all IUS students could participate in; however, no one entered.
Two winners were to be announced at the book reading.
By AMANDA FRENCH
Staff Writer
aafrench@ius.edu