Book Banning

Book banning occurs when the government or another authority restricts access to a book, in whole or in part. The censoring authority may issue an official doctrine explaining why the book has been banned. Some bans have involved burning physical copies of books, ensuring that the offending text will not be read or making a symbolic gesture toward that end. Alternatively, a book may be quietly removed from library shelves. Censors ban books to prevent the dissemination of thoughts and ideas they deem dangerous, and a book may be banned due to moral, religious, or political motivations.

A federal ban on the sale and distribution of literature considered obscene came into force in the United States in 1873 with the...