...any academic libraries concerned with intellectual freedom issues should own the volume. Just as Woods and Burress have become standards reference works, the present volume can confidently expect to have a similarly useful lifespan. Journal of Academic LibrarianshipHarer and Harris provide a summary review of the literature on censorship and compare their findings with those of other sources past and present. The real value of their work is the thoughtful analysis of what happened in the 1980s in terms of such factors as the number of censorship attempts per year, the titles challenged, the state and regional distribution of incidents, the complainants, the political orientation of organized groups who originate censorship efforts, the reasons for the censorship of items, and the results of challenges. Wilson Library BulletinThis is an extremely comprehensive review of an important topic. Its purchase is recommended for research collections. Australian Library ReviewThe study of censorship is important because this conflict between opposing forces threatens the foundation of society.The study of censorship is important not because we are shocked by the contents of a book or because a complaint about a work offends our sensibilities, but rather because this conflict between powerful opposing forces in society can threaten its foundations and ideals. Conflict exists because reasonable individuals in our society disagree as to what defines the limitations of creativity and expression, and who should decide when those boundaries ahve been overstepped. These issues are addressed in detail in this important and timely new survey.
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