{"id":4268,"date":"2021-09-28T15:59:15","date_gmt":"2021-09-28T19:59:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.richmond.edu\/lawlibrary\/?p=4268"},"modified":"2022-09-16T16:30:00","modified_gmt":"2022-09-16T20:30:00","slug":"banned-books-and-the-law-cases-that-shaped-the-freedom-to-read","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/create.richmond.edu\/lawlibrary\/?p=4268","title":{"rendered":"Banned Books and the Law — Cases that Shaped the Freedom to Read"},"content":{"rendered":"

This week is Banned Books Week. Every year, the American Library Association (ALA) highlights books that have been banned or challenged for one reason or another. It is a chance to reflect on the importance of freedom of expression, and the dangers of censorship. Books have been banned for racism, violence, sexual content, encouragement of “dangerous” life choices, profanity, and political beliefs. But who gets to define what those “dangerous” books are, or why they are dangerous? The Diary of a Young Girl<\/em> by Anne Frank<\/a> has been banned and censored many times over the years and removed from the shelves of public and school libraries. The reasons?: for “undermining adult authority” when Anne criticizes her mother; for “pornographic” scenes when 14-year-old Anne describes her maturing anatomy; for “homosexual themes”; and for simply being “a real downer.” Even the seemingly innocuous Harry Potter<\/em> series<\/a> has been banned, having been accused of promoting witchcraft, Satanism, and blasphemy. Many of these banned and challenged books are now considered to be classics of literature, including The Great Gatsby, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Color Purple, Of Mice and Men, 1984,<\/em> and I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

This year, the ALA’s theme for Banned Books Week is “Books Unite Us. Censorship Divides Us.”<\/a> In recent years, the number of challenges to certain books based on their content has risen. On the ALA’s Banned Books website, you can read more about the Top 10 Most Challenged Books in the US for 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As law students, you will be interested in some of the case law that has shaped the way Americans view of the right to read and the meaning of the First Amendment. Many cases of banned and challenged books have made it to state and federal courts, even the US Supreme Court. HeinOnline has highlighted some of the important court cases regarding banned books<\/a>. The most notable include:<\/p>\n