Celebrate Banned Books Week!
Posted By: Liz Goodrich
Date Posted: 9/17/2006
What do Mark Twain, Toni Morrison and Judy Blume all have in common? All three are popular, critically acclaimed authors who have had at least two of their novels challenged and banned. Celebrate your freedom to read with Deschutes Public Libraries during the week of September 23 – 29. During the week, book discussions, movie screenings, panel discussions and performances will be hosted around Deschutes County. All programs during Banned Books Week are free and open to the public.
According to the American Library Association web site, Banned Books Week has been observed since 1982 and the event serves as a reminder to Americans that our precious First Amendment rights protected by the Constitution should never be taken for granted. Libraries across America have a proud tradition of supporting intellectual freedom, as expressed in the Library Bill of Rights, by providing access to materials that may represent unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints. Banned Books Week reminds us that our right to read material of our own choice remains at risk.
During the week, you are invited to join in the discussion of Banned Books. The week kicks of with a panel of experts on civil liberties and intellectual freedom on Sunday, September 23 at 2:00 p.m. in the Brooks Room of the Bend Public Library. On Tuesday and Wednesday, movies highlighting banned or challenged books will be screened at McMenamins. Branch libraries will host discussions of banned books throughout the week. On Saturday, September 30, the Book-It All Over Repertory Theater performs scenes from banned books at the Sunriver Area Public Library at 2:00 p.m. and at Hitchcock Auditorium at COCC at 7:00 p.m. The performances are sponsored in part by the Teen Services Department of Deschutes Public Library and the Humanities Department at COCC.
A complete calendar listing of the events of Banned Books Week:
24th Intellectual Freedom Discussion
Brooks Room, Bend Public Library
2:00 p.m.
Experts in the areas of intellectual freedom and civil liberties kick of Banned Books week with a panel discussion. Free and open to the public.
25th Banned Books Week Book Discussion
Brooks Room, Bend Public Library
12:00 noon
Discuss Kurt Vonnegut’s classic, Slaughterhouse Five in celebration of Banned Books Week.
26th Banned Books Week Book Discussion for Teens
LaPine Public Library
3:30 p.m.
Teens are invited to discus What My Mother Doesn't Know by Sonya Sones in
celebration of Banned Books Week.
Free and open to the public.
26th Banned Books Week Movie Screening
McMenamins Old St. Francis School
Screen movies in celebration of Banned Books Week.
6:00 p.m. Inherit The Wind starring Spencer Tracy (minors permitted with adult)
8:30 p.m. 1984 starring John Hurt (21 and over only)
Free and open to the public.
27th Banned Books Week Book Discussion for Kids
LaPine Public Library
2:00 p.m.
Kids ages 6-12 are invited to discuss the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilkey in celebration of Banned Books Week.
Free and open to the public.
27th Banned Books Week Book Discussion for Kids
Brooks Room, Bend Public Library
4:30 – 5:30
The Bend children's librarians will lead a discussion on children's poetry books that have been challenged including Where the Sidewalk Ends, A Light in the Attic, Nightmares: Poems to Trouble Your Sleep, And the Green Grass Grew All Around, Halloween ABC, and Rolling Harvey Down the Hill.
Free and open to the public.
27th Banned Books Week Book Discussion
Redmond Public Library
7:00 – 8:00 p.m.
Discuss Nabokov’s classic, Lolita in celebration of Banned Books Week
Free and open to the public.
27th Banned Books Week Movie Screening
McMenamins Old St. Francis School
Screen movies in celebration of Banned Books Week.
6:00 p.m. Fahrenheit 451 starring Julie Christie (minors permitted with adult)
8:30 p.m. Salt of the Earth (21 and over only)
Free and open to the public.
28th Banned Books Week Book Discussion for Teens
Redmond Public Library
3:30 – 4:30 p.m.
Discuss Stuck in Neutral by Terry Trueman. Challenged, but retained on the reading list for eighth- graders at a Wisconsin school in 2003.
Free and open to the public.
28th Banned Books Week Book Discussion
LaPine Public Library
6:30 p.m.
Discuss I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou in celebration of Banned Books Week.
Free and open to the public.
28th Banned Books Week Book Discussion
Sisters Public Library
6:30 p.m.
Discuss Bridge To Terabithia by Katherine Paterson in celebration of Banned Books Week.
Free and open to the public.
30th Danger: Books! A Celebration of Intellectual Freedom
Sunriver Area Public Library
2:00 p.m.
The Book-It All Over Repertory Theater performs scenes from banned books in celebration of Banned Books Week. Co-Sponsored by Deschutes Public Library and the Deschutes Public Library’s Teen Services.
Free and open to the public.
30th Danger: Books! A Celebration of Intellectual Freedom
Hitchcock Auditorium at Central Oregon Community College
7:00 p.m.
The Book-It All Over Repertory Theater performs scenes from banned books in celebration of Banned Books Week. Co-sponsored by the Deschutes Public Library and the Deschutes Public Library’s Teen Services and COCC’s Humanities Department.
Free and open to the public.
For information about this or other library programs, please call 312-1032
Page Last Modified Wednesday, March 8, 2023