The "Harry Potter" series, by J.K. Rowling, is at the top of the list of the most banned books in 1999, according to the American Library Association Office of Intellectual Freedom.

Other books on this list include "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain; "Of Mice and Men," by John Steinbeck; "Blubber," by Judy Blume; and "Catcher in the Rye," by J.D. Salinger.

The top 100 list was compiled from 5,718 challenges to library books reported to or recorded between 1990 and 1999 by ALA's office for Intellectual Freedom, according to Jin Moon's article, "From Harry Potter to Blubber: 100 Books Make List of Most Challenged of the '90s," cited from the Freedom Forum Online.

The ALA lists reasons, ranging from bad language to explicit passages, for challenging books.

Does book banning affect Warsaw?

The Warsaw Community Public Library doesn't ban books but they do have a collection development policy and a reconsideration policy. Information services librarian Dana Owens said the reconsideration policy is for certain complaints on material. The material then is analyzed through the committee of board and staff members to see if it is offensive enough to be pulled from the shelves.

"It appears to be a lot of time more in school," Owens said of book challenges. The schools deal more with different ages of children and parents' concerns over what they are reading.

Media specialist director of Warsaw Community High School, Denny Hoff, said, "We try to be careful in our selection."

Hoff said the administration is careful about choosing what books go on the shelves in the school library to avoid controversy. However, the school tries not to ban books and it tries to stay away from censorship.

Hoff said the state issues a list of books suggested to stay off the shelves of school libraries, and the high school looks over this list. There is also a form for parents to fill out if they believe a certain book should be removed from the shelves. Hoff said those requests aren't that common, though. In his eight years working for the high school library, he's had only one request to ban a book.

The school is careful about what books are assigned in class, too, he said.

"We don't want to get caught up in this censorship business," Hoff said. "That's worse than banning a book."

JoElla Smyth, principal at Edgewood Middle School, said the library there contains books that students have expressed an interest in or books that have something to do with what students are studying. The books are age-appropriate for middle school students, she said.

In case of a parent complaint against a book, Smyth said, the school doesn't necessarily get rid of the book, but the administration will try to understand why the book is considered offensive.

If the book is research material for a school assignment, Smyth said, the school may not get rid of the book, but staff and faculty will help the student find a book more appropriate and satisfactory to the parents.

Smyth provided the policy concerning book censorship for all Warsaw Community Schools. In the event of a formal complaint, the complaint must be submitted on a Request for Reconsideration of Instructional Materials form. The building principal or assistant superintendent of instruction will form a review committee within 15 working days to study the complaint.

The committee will review the challenged material, check general acceptance of the material through reviews, determine the extent to which material supports the curriculum or collection, weigh the strengths and weaknesses of the material against each other and present a written recommendation to retain or remove the material to the superintendent and the board of school trustees.

A complainant has the right to appeal any decision to the school board, and all decisions of the board are final. [[In-content Ad]]