The Poisoning of Minds and the Reading of Books The Lord of The Rings, The Great Gatsby, To kill a Mockingbird and hundreds of other amazing and inspiring books are being challenged and banned from libraries the country over. Every year hundreds of reports are sent to the American Library Association (ALA) on attempts to ban or remove books from public libraries, school libraries, and class rooms. These attempts at banning books are also attempts at censorship, attempts to control what others can and can’t read. Censorship removes people’s right to read and access the information they want. The banning and censoring of books has gone on for centuries, all across the world and by people who oppose the ideas and contents of books. The idea