ALA introduces Banned Books bracelet
Contact: Jen Hammond
Office for Intellectual Freedom
312-280-4220
For Immediate Release
August 9, 2005
ALA introduces Banned Books bracelet
(CHICAGO) Just in time for Banned Books Week (September 24-October 1, 2005), the American Library Association (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom has added bracelets to its Banned Books materials. Debuted at the ALA Annual Conference in June, the bracelets feature covers of popular challenged books and remind everyone to exercise their freedom to read.
The adult-size bracelet features “The Color Purple,” “Howl,” “Go Ask Alice” and three other titles. The children's version features “The Adventures of Captain Underpants,” “King & King,” “Annie on My Mind” and three other titles. The Office for Intellectual Freedom also offers T-shirts, buttons, posters, bookmarks and a resource guide for librarians, educators, parents and others who celebrate intellectual freedom. Adult bracelets are $18 for one and $15 each for two or more. The children's version is $12 for one or $10 each for two or more.
Thousands of libraries and bookstores will sponsor events and exhibits speaking out against attempts to censor books and celebrating the freedom to read during Banned Books Week. The Office for Intellectual Freedom received 547 reports of challenges – or attempts to remove books from schools and libraries – in 2004. Robert Cormier's “The Chocolate War” was the most challenged book of last year.
Observed since 1982, Banned Books Week reminds Americans not to take this precious democratic freedom for granted. The event is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
To order, please visit
http://www.ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwkit/bbwkit.htm. To order by phone, please call 1-800-545-2433 ext. 4220.
