Celebrate Banned Books Week by Checking Out the Censorship Exhibit in the IMC

McIntyre Library at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire will display "Censorship in Schools and Libraries," a new exhibit opening Sept. 29.

The exhibit will be displayed in the Instructional Media Center on the lower level of McIntyre Library in observance of the American Library Association's Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read.

Banned Books Week (Sept. 27-Oct. 4) is observed during the last week of September each year. Observed since 1982, this annual event reminds Americans not to take democratic freedom for granted.

The exhibit, which will be on display through Dec. 19, was developed by the Long Island Coalition Against Censorship. Through narratives and illustrations, it chronicles incidents of censorship dating back to the 19th century, as well as frequently challenged books and creative works. Included are descriptions of the censorship of "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," "In the Night Kitchen," "The Catcher in the Rye," "The Color Purple," the novels of Judy Blume and Chris Crutcher, and most recently, the 2007 Newbery Prize winning novel "The Higher Power of Lucky" by Susan Patron.

Information on U.S. Supreme Court and lower court decisions is an integral part of the exhibit, including efforts to censor the popular Harry Potter children's books (Harry Potter books were burned in Alamagordo, N.M.) and the 2003 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court upholding the Children's Internet Protection Act.

For more information, contact Kati Tvaruzka, education reference librarian, at 715-836-4522 or tvaruzke@uwec.edu.