'Banned Book Week' read-out celebrates freedom to read

The Friends of the Iberville Public Libraries will host its third Banned Book Read-Out at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday (September 28) at the Plaquemine Library's meeting room to celebrate the freedom to read.

The event, which is free and open to the public, is scheduled during the American Library Association's annual Banned Book Week, held in the last week of September to highlight the benefits of free and open access to information and the harm of censorship in the United States.

“Intellectual freedom – the freedom to access information and express ideas, even if the information and ideas might be considered unorthodox or unpopular – provides the foundation for Banned Books Week,” according to the ALA. “BBE stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints for all who wish to read and access them.”

Classic literature – such as The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, The Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird and The Color Purple – have been among the most frequently challenged or banned books.

Anyone who would like to read from a banned book at the Friends' event can call librarian Elizabeth Haynes at 687-2520.