30 Seconds at the Athenaeum - 2010-09-24

Celebrate Dangerous Books!
Friday 9/24, 5-7pm
Co-presented with the RI affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. Remember when The Catcher in the Rye was considered dangerous? Or To Kill a Mockingbird or Of Mice and Men? To celebrate the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain such titles, the RI ACLU will kick off national Banned Books Week with RI authors including Adam Braver, Thomas Cobb, Rosemary Mahoney, Stephen O'Shea, Mike Stanton, Ted Widmer, and others reading from banned or challenged books. Event will also feature a display of books that early-to-mid 20th century Athenaeum staff deemed too racy for open shelving and kept on the "Scruples Shelf" behind the Circulation Desk, where members had to request them from the often disapproving librarians of the day. Banned Books Week (9/25-10/2, 2010) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Many more books might be challenged—and possibly banned or restricted—if concerned individuals across the country did not use Banned Books Week each year to teach the importance of First Amendment rights and the power of literature. Free and open to the public!

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Nonprofits & Activism

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