#BannedAfricanBooks: Creating a Database for Banned African Books
September 30 to October 6 was (or is) celebrated as Banned Books Week worldwide. During this period, people around the world, especially in the blogosphere, read books that have been banned at one point in before for various perceived offenses, either due to its language, sex, murder, or profanity. According to the the American Library Association who established this in 1982 Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community -- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types -- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular. In Africa, governments and other bodies have used several excuses to ban several books. However, every book deserves to be given the opportunity to be read. The ...