The American Library Association holds an annual event called Banned Books Week celebrating "the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment." Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights free and open access to information and brings attention to censorship by showing the actual or attempted banning of books across the United States.
So with that in mind, author R. Wolf Baldassarro came up with the idea of posting each week throughout 2011 the cover of a different book that was challenged, removed, or otherwise shut out and blocked from libraries and schools.
According to a recent Detroit News article (1/18/11), Detroit’s literacy rate dropped to 56^th place in 2010.  “That simply will not do,” Wolf explains.  “Now, more than ever, we need to maintain a strong, intellectual citizenship so that we can overcome the economic troubles that have befallen us.”
He invites each and every one of you to discuss and debate the issue and the specific books. “Discussion is an exchange of knowledge; an argument an exchange of ignorance," as Robert Quillen once said.
This is known henceforth as the Banned Books Awareness and Reading for Knowledge project (BBARK).
The project name and logo are a play on R. Wolf Baldassarro's name and design for Wolf's Deep Forest Productions company logo; but more importantly, in Native American culture the Wolf's Medicine, or power, is the pathfinder; the teacher; and dogs bark to call attention or as a warning to others.
The long-term goal is to also get the community involved by going to schools and libraries and host events in which we encourage reading in general and not make it just about the banned books.  In addition, the cause would like to encourage public events at libraries across the nation where everyone can come and read a banned book and celebrate our rich literary history and the freedom to read those works.

Each weekly article will be posted on Sundays in the Social Change section of the Australian news site world.edu.  To join the group discussions, and view the complete list of featured books, click on the image below.

The Banned Books List