By Will Tice

Many popular books have been banned in the past and continue to be banned today, while unsuspecting readers remain unaware.

This week, Alcuin and Clemens libraries are combating this ignorance as they celebrate Banned Books Week.

The American Library Association established Banned Books Week in 1982. On the 25th anniversary, the libraries are recognizing Banned Books Week by putting up displays and showcasing books that have been challenged or banned.

“The intent of Banned Books Week is to celebrate the freedom to read, ” librarian Kathy Parker said. “You get to choose what you read, and somebody else doesn’t choose for you. ”

Parker stated that books are most frequently banned in public libraries and schools, while Benedictine communities have been less eager to censor. “There’s always been a reluctance to ban books, ” Parker said.

The Benedictine communities even try to recover and save books outside of the Catholic tradition.

Librarian Sarah Gewirtz said that Banned Books Week is all about recognizing freedom of speech.

“Just having the displays makes students think about it,” Gewirtz said. “Hopefully they can open up a discussion between students. ”

Student awareness of Banned Books Week is mixed.

“I think (I’ve read a banned book), but I wouldn’t know what it would be, ” senior AJ LaVenture said.

Although LaVenture was unaware that this week was Banned Books Week, Student awareness of Banned Books he proposed that banned books should still be available for others to read.

“People who are reading (challenged books) should be aware of why others think they’re inappropriate, ” LaVenture said.

On the other hand, some students are prepared for Banned Books Week. “I have (Banned Books Week) pins on my backpack, ” first-year Ellyn Schwartzbauer said.

A true supporter of Banned Books Week, Schwartzbauer has already checked out some of the books that have been challenged the most, including “The Last Temptation of Christ” by Nikos Kazantzakis and “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger.

She has also read the “Harry Potter” series, a more recently challenged series.

The American Library Association Web site reported that J.K. Rowling was one of the most frequently challenged authors from 2000 to 2003, and the Harry Potter series is No. 7 on “The 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000. ”

One of Schwartzbauer’s choices, “The Catcher in the Rye, ” is No. 13.

The most challenged book of 2006 was “And Tango Makes Three” by Peter Parnell, a novel about two male penguins who raise an egg.

“It helps people to understand that people in this country have a right to read and write things that people in other countries might not have, ” Schwartzbauer said.

More information about Banned Books Week can be found at www.ala.org or at the Alcuin and Clemens libraries.

Filed under: Lifestyle, Variety by Justin Roth