Banned Books Front and Center at Kirkwood Library

A banned books display in the Teen section of the Kirkwood Public Library (KPL) is a testament to the institution's anti-censorship convictions.

The display that features challenged literature is a celebration of patrons' freedom to read as part of the American Library Association's (ALA) Banned Books Week that began Sept. 30 and ends Sept. 6.

"The American Library Association does it every year. Some years we do a display and some years we don't. This year we came up with a creative idea of how to display it," said Sarah Erwin, the director of the Kirkwood Public Library.

The display features popular books that have been challenged in the past like Animal Farm and Cather in the Rye.

"We do it because the whole goal of a public library is to represent all different viewpoints. We provide access to different materials. Readers can pick what's best for them," Erwin said. "We always tell people to let us know if their viewpoint isn't represented."

According to the ALA, The top challenged books in 2011 were:

1. ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle 
   Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
2. The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
3. The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
   Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence
4. My Mom's Having A Baby! A Kid's Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
   Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
5. The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
   Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
6. Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint
7. Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
   Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit
8. What My Mother Doesn't Know, by Sonya Sones
   Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit
9. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
   Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit
10. To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
    Reasons: offensive language; racism

Visit ala.org to see more challenged titles.