The Echo

Issue date: 10/2/08 Section: Culture

Media Credit: Brittany Shaw Freedom to read: Tiffanie Harris, a West Memphis, Ark., sophomore, picks up information and peruses through the selection of banned books offered at the library.

The Lupton Library will be celebrating Banned Book Week from Sept. 27 through Oct. 4, according to Bill Prince, a reference librarian for the campus library.

"Libraries have always been concerned about banned books," Prince said. "It's important to bring to attention the fact that we have censorship to a degree in the United States."

It rarely happens in academic libraries, Prince added. "We don't have as much outside pressure with special interest groups telling us which books to choose."

"A challenged item is a book, video, or some other item in the library that an interest group wants removed from the shelves," he said.

"Banned books have actually been removed from the shelves or not purchased."

There have been examples from well-known authors, Prince said. "'The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' is an example of a book that has been banned," he added.

"Another classic example is 'The Great Gatsby.' 'Harry Potter' has also been on the list of challenged books."

Theresa Liedtka, dean of the Lupton Library, said it is a First Amendment right to have free access to books.

"Here at UTC, our job is to educate," Liedtka said. "Being a well-rounded individual, you have to have access to a variety of information," she said.

Some items in the library only have limited access, she said. "We try to buy banned books and put them in special collections."

Katie Christie, a sophomore from Memphis, said she plans to visit the display.

"I have a list of the banned books and I'm working on reading them all," Christie said. "The library is where I get the books I read off the list."

"I'm against censorship in all forms," Christie added. "If you can't say something for fear of repercussions, that's the worst restriction ever."

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