STCC Reads Banned Books Homepage

Here at STCC, we don't keep banned books out of our collection. We buy them so you can read them! In February 2022, the STCC Library received funding from the Office of Multicultural Affairs to expand our collection. Many new books purchased with these funds are books written by Black authors that have been banned or challenged elsewhere in the United States and/or around the world. 

On September 21st, 2022, the STCC Office of Multicultural Affairs and the STCC Library sponsored an event to unveil the Periodic Table of Banned Books. This event was held during the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual Banned Books Week which ran from September 18th-24th. The Western Mass community at large is invited to come to the exhibit, which is installed permanently in the STCC Library. The library is located on the second floor of the Ira H. Rubenzahl Student Learning Commons (Building 19). This project was inspired by the Periodic Table of Black History created by staff at the Lakeland Public Library.

Books are challenged for a myriad of reasons, but most recently Critical Race Theory (CRT) has been the latest target by some lawmakers and supporters of what they call a "balanced and patriotic" education in the United States. According to the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People's Legal Defense and Education Fund, these challenges and bans are far from balanced. Censorship denies students their right to learn the truth about systemic issues in our nation's history, and how these systemic issues impact people every day.