The East Brunswick Public Library, Jean Walling Civic Center, will celebrate the freedom to read by marking Banned Books Week, Sept. 25-Oct. 1.
To highlight the importance of access to free and open information, the library has put together a display of books from its collection that have been banned or challenged in other parts of the country. Not only controversial titles such as “Fifty Shades of Grey” have been banned in some areas. Books that have been frequently challenged are classic novels including “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, “Fahrenheit 451” by Ray Bradbury and “Gone With the Wind” by Margaret Mitchell. Children’s book series including “Captain Underpants” and “Harry Potter” also have been challenged.
As part of the library celebration, Kevin Mulachy, a humanities librarian specializing in cinema studies at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, will offer a lecture titled “Banned Films” 7 p.m. Sept. 27. Discussion will focus on the censorship of films in the United States and abroad as well as perspectives on why censorship is so common. The lecture is free of charge and open to the public.
For more information, call 732-390-6767 or log on to www.ebpl.org.