Source: Daniel Ireton, 785-532-7438, dli6873@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Donna F. Ekart, 785-532-7452, dfe@k-state.edu

Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010

BANNED BOOKS FEATURED IN ON-CAMPUS READINGS SEPT. 27-OCT. 1

MANHATTAN -- K-State Libraries, the department of English, and English honorary Sigma Tau Delta have collaborated to showcase banned or challenged books Sept. 27-Oct. 1 on the Kansas State University campus.

The annual event, in conjunction with the American Library Association's Banned Books Week, will feature daily readings from books that have been banned or challenged in libraries. Readers include faculty and staff from the K-State Libraries and the English department, as well as students who are members of Sigma Tau Delta.

Readings will be daily from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. on the lawn south of Hale Library, and are free and open to the public.

"The American Library Association holds Banned Books Week each year at the end of September to celebrate the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment," said Daniel Ireton, assistant professor and undergraduate and community services librarian at K-State Libraries. "We've collaborated with the English department for the last several years on this event. It's a natural partnership between people who are passionate about the value of reading."

Readings will be drawn from the list of most frequently banned and challenged books during the last decade. Selections are expected from works such as "Catcher in the Rye," the "Harry Potter" and "Twilight" series, "Slaughterhouse Five," and the locally challenged book, "Flight." Readers will read aloud in 15-minute shifts.

"We hope people will stop by over their lunch hour, bringing a brownbag lunch or stop by Einstein Brothers Bagels in Hale Library, and enjoy listening to a wide variety of entertaining and thought-provoking literature. There should be something for everyone," Ireton said. "There also will be a display inside the library featuring this year's top 10 banned or challenged books."

For more information about the event or Banned Books Week, contact Ireton at 785-532-7436 or dli6873@k-state.edu; or Naomi Wood, associate professor of English, at 785-532-2159 or njwood@k-state.edu.