LibGuides: Let Freedom Read: Banned Books Week 2023: Books + Articles on Censorship

Books and Articles on Censorship and Book Bans

The New Censorship (E-Book) by Joel Simon
ISBN: 9780231160643
Publication Date: 2014-11-11
Journalists are being imprisoned and killed in record numbers. Online surveillance is annihilating privacy, and the Internet can be brought under government control at any time. Joel Simon, the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, warns that we can no longer assume that our global information ecosystem is stable, protected, and robust. Journalists are increasingly vulnerable to attack by authoritarian governments, militants, criminals, and terrorists, who all seek to use technology, political pressure, and violence to set the global information agenda.
Free Speech and Censorship by H. L. Pohlman
ISBN: 9781440861796
Publication Date: 2019-05-03
This book provides a comprehensive and impartial overview of laws and norms regarding free speech and censorship in the United States, with a particular focus on free speech rights and restrictions for individuals, politicians, corporations, and news organizations.Free Speech and Censorship: Examining the Facts is part of a series that uses evidence-based documentation to examine the veracity of claims and beliefs about high-profile issues in American culture and politics. This volume examines beliefs, claims, and myths about free speech and censorship issues in American society, including landmark court decisions and evolving cultural values that have shaped our understanding of the First Amendment and the liberties it enshrines and protects.
Congress Shall Make No Law by David M. O'Brien
ISBN: 9781442205109
Publication Date: 2010-09-16
The First Amendment declares that Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press....'Yet, in the following two hundred years, Congress and the states have sought repeatedly to curb these freedoms. The Supreme Court of the United States in turn gradually expanded First Amendment protection for freedom of expression but also defined certain categories of expression, obscenity, defamation, commercial speech, and fighting words or disruptive expression-as constitutionally unprotected.
African Americans and the First Amendment by Timothy C. Shiell
ISBN: 9781438475813
Publication Date: 2019-09-01
African Americans and the First Amendment is the first book to explore in detail the relationship between African Americans and our "first freedoms," especially freedom of speech. Timothy C. Shiell utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to demonstrate that a strong commitment to civil liberty and to racial equality are mutually supportive, as they share an opposition to orthodoxy and a commitment to greater inclusion and participation. This crucial connection is evidenced throughout US history, from the days of colonial and antebellum slavery to Jim Crow: in the landmark US Supreme Court decision in 1937 freeing the black communist Angelo Herndon; in the struggles and victories of the civil rights movement, from the late 1930s to the late '60s; and in the historical and modern debates over hate speech restrictions.
Book Banning in 21st-Century America by Emily J. M. Knox
ISBN: 9781442231672
Publication Date: 2015-01-16
Requests for the removal, relocation, and restriction of books--also known as challenges--occur with some frequency in the United States. Book Banning in 21st-Century American Libraries, based on thirteen contemporary book challenge cases in schools and public libraries across the United States argues that understanding contemporary reading practices, especially interpretive strategies, is vital to understanding why people attempt to censor books in schools and public libraries. Previous research on censorship tends to focus on legal frameworks centered on Supreme Court cases, historical case studies, and bibliographies of texts that are targeted for removal or relocation and is often concerned with how censorship occurs.
Foundations of Intellectual Freedom by Emily J. M. Knox
ISBN: 9780838937839
Publication Date: 2022-10-28
Enshrined in the mission statement of ALA, intellectual freedom is one of the core values of the information professions. The importance of ensuring information access to all, and the historical, social, and legal foundations of this commitment, are powerfully explored in this essential primer. Designed to function as both an introductory text for LIS students as well as a complementary resource for current professionals, this book provides a cohesive, holistic perspective on intellectual freedom. Extending beyond censorship to encompass such timely and urgent topics as hate speech and social justice, from this book readers will gain an understanding of the historical and legal roots of intellectual freedom.

Pico, LGBTQ+ Book Bans, and the Battle for Students' First Amendment Rights by Andrew Perry

Abstract: The Supreme Court addressed book removals in school libraries in the 1982 case Island Trees Board of Education. Pico, but the complex opinion did not craft a rule, to bind lower courts. Nonetheless, lower courts have used Pico as a guide in addressing censorship in school (and public) libraries, but that era of deference appears lo be coming to an end. With book challenges at historic highs, anti-censorship advocates should anticipate relying not on Pico. but on broader First Amendment principles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Defeating the Censor Within: How to Hold Your Stand for Youth Access to Literature in the Face of School Book Bans by Ashley Hope Pérez

Abstract: YA author Pérez offers encouragement and insight into book challenges today, which are about much more than just a book. Offering tips for how to prepare for challenges and amplify student voices, the reader will also find ideas to help marginalized learners still find their way to targeted books.

"Book Traffickers" Meet Tucson Ban on Mexican-American Studies by Beverly Goldberg

Abstract: As of early March, educators were readying a "book trafficker" caravan that would travel March 12--18 from Houston, Texas, to Tucson, Arizona, to donate books about the Mexican-American experience to four volunteer libraries. The donations were meant to counter the removal of at least seven titles from Tucson Unified School District (TUSD) classrooms, where they had been taught as part of the district's now-outlawed Mexican-American Studies (MAS) program. Reminiscent of the Occupy Wall Street Library movement, the book traffickers, or Libro Traficantes... were to contribute titles to underground libraries in Houston, San Antonio, Albuquerque, and Tucson.

Three Stages of Censorship: Force, Law and Consent by Burt Neuborne

Abstract: In this article, the author discusses a symposium on efforts to limit the third, supposedly consensual, phase of top-down censorship. He discusses the history of using brute force and violence to enforce censorship, as well as the use of censorship to silence critics of the powerful. He also describes ways of controlling judicially enforced censorship agreements, such as recognizing that even consensual secrecy agreements may be overridden by the First Amendment of potential hearers.

The Dilemma of Private Censorship by Raman Maroz

Abstract: The article examines whether government intervention in the private realm in order to curb non-government censorship may be required by the constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech in the U.S. Topics discussed include the understanding of the constitutional right of freedom of expression in modern democracies, examples of private censorship, and the reasons behind the protection of the freedom of speech by constitutions.

Censorship: An Explanation of Issues, Problems, and Resolutions by Peter Blomberg

Abstract: The article explores several issues, problems, and resolutions involving the concept of censorship in the U.S. It highlights the position of the American Library Association (ALA) on the censorship issue. The ALA Council emphasizes the essential of free communication to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture. Meanwhile, it mentions the Library Bill of Rights written by the ALA, which indicates all information in the library should be equally available to everyone.

Free Speech and Censorship Around the Globe by Péter Molnár
Call Number: Bowie State University General Stacks | K3253 .F735 2015
ISBN: 9789633860564
Publication Date: 2015-02-01
This book focuses on regulatory challenges of creating and sustaining freedom of speech and freedom of information two decades after the fall of the Berlin wall, in global, comparative context. Some chapters overview, others address specific issues, or describe country case studies. Instead of trying to provide an exhaustive assessment which in one volume might not reach deeper analyzes of contextual details, this book will shed light on and help better understanding of general challenges for freedom of speech and information through varying comparative examples and highlighting important regulatory questions.
Kindly Inquisitors by George F. Will (Foreword by); Jonathan Rauch
Call Number: Bowie State University General Stacks | Z658.U5 R38 2013
ISBN: 9780226145938
Publication Date: 2014-01-23
"A liberal society stands on the proposition that we should all take seriously the idea that we might be wrong. This means we must place no one, including ourselves, beyond the reach of criticism; it means that we must allow people to err, even where the error offends and upsets, as it often will." So writes Jonathan Rauch in Kindly Inquisitors, which has challenged readers for more than twenty years with its bracing and provocative exploration of the issues surrounding attempts to limit free speech. In it, Rauch makes a persuasive argument for the value of "liberal science" and the idea that conflicting views produce knowledge within society.
Not in Front of the Children by Marjorie Heins
Call Number: Bowie State University General Stacks | Z658.U5 H42 2007
ISBN: 9780813542218
Publication Date: 2007-09-11
From Huckleberry Finn to Harry Potter, from Internet filters to the v-chip, censorship exercised on behalf of children and adolescents is often based on the assumption that they must be protected from "indecent" information that might harm their development--whether in art, in literature, or on a Web site. But where does this assumption come from, and is it true? In Not in Front of the Children, Marjorie Heins explores the fascinating history of "indecency" laws and other restrictions aimed at protecting youth. With fascinating examples drawn from around the globe, she suggests that the "harm to minors" argument rests on shaky foundations.
Protecting Intellectual Freedom in Your Academic Library by American Library American Library Association
Call Number: Bowie State University General Stacks | Z675.U5 J72 2009
ISBN: 9780838935804
Publication Date: 2009-01-01
Barbara Jones uses her experience and expertise to offer an intellectual freedom title tailored to the academic library environment. This title presents a number of scenarios in which intellectual freedom is at risk and includes: Case studies that provide narrative treatment of common situations tailored to your library type, Easy and motivating ways to prepare new hires for handling intellectual freedom issues, Sidebars throughout the book that offer sample policies, definitions of key terms, and analysis of important statutes and decisions, and Detailed information on how to handle challenges to materials in your collection.
Unlearning Liberty by Greg Lukianoff
Call Number: owie State University General Stacks | KF4242 .L85 2012
ISBN: 9781594036354
Publication Date: 2012-10-23
For over a generation, shocking cases of censorship at America's colleges and universities have taught students the wrong lessons about living in a free society. Drawing on a decade of experience battling for freedom of speech on campus, First Amendment lawyer Greg Lukianoff reveals how higher education fails to teach students to become critical thinkers: by stifling open debate, our campuses are supercharging ideological divisions, promoting groupthink, and encouraging an unscholarly certainty about complex issues. The book illuminates how intolerance for dissent and debate on today's campus threatens the freedom of every citizen and makes us all just a little bit dumber.