Harry Potter; Huckleberry Finn; A Light in the Attic—what do they all have in common? Not only are they all immensely popular literary works, but each of them have been banned or challeneged at one time of another. Gone from the shelves in many places are the works of childhood authors such as Dav Pilkey, author of the Captain Underpants series, and Judy Blume, author of Blubber.

Often, when they are not banned completely, these books have been challenged unceasingly by those attempting to undermine the basis of the communicative freedoms upon which they were written.

One may ask what the reasons for challenging or banning a certain book may be, but the explanation is quite simple. A book is typically challenged by groups or individuals when it includes content, such as personal opinion, racism, sexual activity or strong language that is deemed to be inappropriate. In early October, a mother from Georgia tried to convince her county board of education to ban the Harry Potter series from classrooms and school libraries. She claimed that the books were “evil” due to their reference to magic and witchcraft.

The issue of banned and challenged books is ever-present at Tabb. The library maintains a healthy collection of these so-called “banned books” and takes the opportunity to display its set of the literary works during Banned Book Week (which occurred in late September).

In reference to people forcing controversial books off the shelves, Librarian Betty Lynn Darden states, “I feel that they are denying people’s intellectual freedom.” She must, however, “be prepared to defend any book in this [library] collection.”

In addition, classes in the English Department require reading some books that have been challenged in the past. For instances in which a student is not permitted by his or her parents or guardians to read a certain book in one of these classes, alternative literary works and assignments are always available.

In reality, banned books are everywhere. While they may go against the beliefs of certain groups of people, banned books are here to stay. The choice of what to read ultimately lies in the hands of the reader. More than likely, though some people will attempt to censor certain literary works, nothing will stop other readers from enjoying a great book.