Embedded Files
Created by Stacy Kitsis, Arlington High School Librarian. Last updated: October 9, 2012.
Source: Reprinted by permission of the American Library Association
Frequently Challenged Books of the 21st Century (ALA)
Brief reasons for book challenges by year (easier to browse than to search, unless you know the year) from the American Library Association newsletter:
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2010-2011 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2009-2010 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2008-2009 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2007-2008 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2006-2007 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2005-2006 (PDF)
Books Challenged and/or Banned - 2004-2005 (PDF)
Reasons for banning several classics:
Recommended Databases
Recommended Databases
Literature Resource Center (Gale)
Literary criticism, reviews and news, and more. Tip: Search by Name of Work to get fewer, more precise results.
Books and Authors (Gale)
Search by title for brief summaries, awards, and reviews. Great source for more popular works, too. Tip: Pay attention to the source of the reviews.
General OneFile (Gale)
This periodical database is a good place to look for newspapers and magazine articles on possible challenges to your book. Tip: Put quotation marks around your title to search for that exact phrase.
Issues and Controversies (Facts on File)
Good source for general arguments about book banning. Tip: What search terms and synonyms could we use?
Another good source for general arguments about book banning.
Outside Resources
Outside Resources
Boston Public Library
The Boston Public Library has a large collection of electronic reference books that you can access from home through their Gale Virtual Reference Library (requires a BPL eCard number). Under Subjects, click on Literature. Then use the search box at the top right of the screen to search only within literature to get focused results, or browse the available titles.
The 35 volumes of Novels for Students offers detailed articles on dozens of frequently taught works, including a critical overview, historical context, and discussion of the novel's themes and significance. Especially if your banned book is a classroom favorite, be sure to check these out!
Robbins Library
If we don't have it, check to see if the Robbins Library has your book in by searching the Minuteman Online Catalog. Set the search type to Title and the location to Arlington to save time.
In their reference (non-circulating) collection, the Robbins has the Banned Books series by Facts on File, with two to ten page articles about many of your titles:
Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Religious Grounds (REF 098 BAL)
Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Sexual Grounds (REF 098 SOV)
Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Social Grounds (REF 098 SOV)
Banned Books: Literature Suppressed on Political Grounds (REF 098 KAR)
Arlington Public Schools Policies
Arlington Public Schools Policies
These documents outline policy for book challenges and selection in Arlington Public Schools:
Recommended Websites
Recommended Websites
What's the difference between banned and challenged books? Start with this general overview:
About Banned & Challenged Books (ALA)
Why are books challenged? Who challenges them? Some interesting statistics:
Number of Challenges by Year, Reason, Initiator & Institution (ALA)
Most frequently challenged books by year and decade. Click on the book covers for quick summary of reasons why:
Search Tips
Use quotation marks to find complete phrases, especially proper names and titles. For example:
"hunger games" or "of mice and men"
Combine keywords to get articles that match each of your important concepts. For example:
vonnegut AND banned
Check your spelling. If you don't find anything on your topic, sloppy spelling may be to blame!
Citing Sources & Academic Integrity
Why cite sources? In addition to avoiding the severe consequences of plagiarism, you cite sources to increase your own credibility, and because you are participating in an ongoing scholarly conversation. It is important for your readers to be able to follow your sources, so they can enter into the dialogue as well.
For this assignment, use your subscription EasyBib account through your Spyponders email address, which will give you access to paid features.
Go to EasyBib.com, click Register and the red Google icon to log on with your Spyponders account. You will always use this button to log on.
You will know you have access to the paid subscription features when you see the PRO and FOR INSTITUTIONS blue badges at the top of your screen. If you are missing these badges, ask the librarian for our coupon code!
Other resources for citation:
Arlington High School Guide to Student Research Projects
Created by Arlington High School teachers for Arlington High School students, this guide explains the research process and what will be expected of you.
Research and Documentation Online (Diana Hacker)
Detailed explanation of in-text citations and works cited entries in perfect MLA format for a wide variety of sources.
Finding Images
These sites allow you to search for images with Creative Commons licensing:
Flickr Advanced Search (use the search options below)
Other places to go for copyright friendly images:
Picture Collection Online (New York City Public Library)
Remember: All of these images still need to be attributed! An ideal citation would look something like this:
Get Creative by Creative Commons is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike (CC BY) license.
But realistically, something like is often acceptable:
By johnmuk via CC license: www.flickr.com/photos/jm999uk/187980686.
Your goal is first to make sure the artist gets credit and second to let your audience know you're allowed to do with the image, in other words, which license type was used. Read more on best practices for attribution from Creative Commons.
Questions, comments, concerns? Email me at skitsis@arlington.k12.ma.us.
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