CSI Library: Banned and Challenged Books: Intellectual Freedom & Censorship

Spotlight

Book Bans: Examining How Censorship Limits Liberty and Literature

Content from the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary September 12, 2023 hearing

First Amendment

First Amendment/U.S. Constitution

Content of the First Amendment, United States Constitution, and related resources from the National Constitution Center.
First Amendment and Censorship

Statements and policies; core documents; guidelines; and publications from the American Library Association.

Reports from PEN America

Spineless Shelves
PEN America's July 2021--June 2023 cumulative data summary
Booklash
PEN America's recent report, "Booklash: Literary Freedom, Online Outrage, and the Language of Harm"
Banned in the USA
PEN America's report, "Banned in the USA: Rising School Book Bans Threaten Free Expression and Students' First Amendment Rights"

Intellectual Freedom & Censorship

What is Censorship? (Content from the American Library Association Website)

Censorship is the suppression of ideas and information that some individuals, groups, or government officials find objectionable or dangerous. Would-be censors try to use the power of the state to impose their view of what is truthful and appropriate, or offensive and objectionable, on everyone else. Censors pressure public institutions, like libraries, to suppress and remove information they judge inappropriate or dangerous from public access, so that no one else has the chance to read or view the material and make up their own minds about it. The censor wants to prejudge materials for everyone. It is no more complicated than someone saying, “Don’t let anyone read this book, or buy that magazine, or view that film, because I object to it!”

“Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.” — Article 3, Library Bill of Rights