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Banned Books & Censorship - Longview

This guide provides resources on censorship, specifically related to the practice of banning books.

Suggested Search Terms: Censorship and Book Banning

Try searching these terms in the library catalog and databases to find resources on censorship and book banning: 

Academic freedom

Banned books

Book burning

Books and censorship

Censorship and academic libraries

Censorship and archives

Censorship and art

Censorship and government policy

Censorship and libraries

Censorship and literature

Challenged books

Constitution and freedom of speech

Critical race theory and censorship

Freedom of information

Freedom of speech

Freedom of speech in art

Freedom of speech in literature

Freedom of speech lawsuits

Freedom of the press

Hicklin Rule and obscenity

History and freedom of speech

History of banned books

History of book burning

History of censorship

Intellectual freedom and censorship

Intellectual freedom and libraries

Intellectual freedom and literature

Library collection development and censorship

Obscenity law

Policy statements for book selection

Public libraries and politics

Racism and censorship

Reading and censorship

Student speech and censorship

Teaching and freedom of speech

Underground literature and censorship

Underground newspapers and censorship

Young adult books and censorship

Terms adapted from:

Finding Search Terms on Your Topic

Keywords (or search terms) are the words that you enter into the database search boxes. Keywords are the main concepts of your research topic and are the words used in everyday life to describe the topic. 

How to find search terms for a topic:

  • Identify the main concepts of your topic and write them out.

  • Brainstorm synonyms and antonyms of those concepts that could also be used to describe your topic.

  • Create a list of any names, places, businesses, or historical events associated with your topic. 

  • Spell out any abbreviations.

Further tips for finding search terms:

  • Run an initial keyword search in the database. When you get your results back read the titles of the books/articles that are listed. In these titles, you may find more good search terms to narrow down your topic to a specific area.
  • Putting quotation marks around your search terms is a way of telling the search engine that you want those specific words/phrases in your results.
  • It is rare that your first search will bring back perfect results. It often takes trial and error to determine what keywords will work best for your topic. Be prepared spend some time working with different search terms to find the ones that work best for you.