Anthology Book Company

Independent bookstores fight for your right to access the books that you want to read, whatever the content may be. We have a display up right now showcasing over a hundred books documented as banned or challenged - we carry them, and are fiercely proud to defend them. The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression collects tools and information to help

In the United States, “banned books” are not illegal to print and sell. However, they are challenged and sometimes removed from libraries, including school, prison, military base, and public libraries. You are entitled to dislike a book, but when a book is removed from a library, you are restricting your fellow citizens’ access to information.

Many sites provide lists of banned books without citing any sources or giving any history at all. This report from the American Library Association provides a list of documented challenges in the US for 2009-2010, and this resource page is an authoritative resource for documented challenges. However, surveys indicate that 85% of challenges are never reported to the ALA.

Here is a map of documented book bans and challenges in the US for the last four years, including three here in Colorado:

“The rights and protections of the First Amendment include children as well as adults. While parents have the right — and the responsibility — to guide their own children’s reading, that right does not extend to other people’s children. Similarly, each adult has the right to choose their own reading materials, along with the responsibility to acknowledge and respect the right of others to do the same.

When we speak up to protect the right to read, we not only defend our individual right to free expression, we demonstrate tolerance and respect for opposing points of view. And when we take action to preserve our precious freedoms, we become participants in the ongoing evolution of our democratic society.”

- Robert P. Doyle, ALA Banned Books Report 2010