A couple of years ago, we asked our Facebook followers to share their favorite banned books. Here are a few that rose to the top.

“To Kill a Mockingbird,” the 1960 novel about racial injustice in a small Southern town by Harper Lee, was the far-and-away favorite of the bunch. Some of you couldn’t believe it was still being challenged and banned in schools.

“Required reading in seventh grade for me,” Brooke H. said. “Unbelievable.”

“The Diary of a Young Girl,” published in 1947 by Anne Frank’s father after she and other members of her family were killed in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust, was No. 2 on your list.

Anne Frank, who was between 13 and 15 as she wrote in her diary during her family’s time in hiding, was upfront about the changes in her body during puberty and her romantic attractions, including toward a female friend. It’s been challenged and banned in various places since 1982.

Coming in at No. 3 on the list was George Orwell’s “1984,” a dystopian science fiction novel warning against government overreach that was published in 1949. Those who have challenged the book do so on the grounds of its relatively tame sex scenes and supposedly pro-communist message.

September was Library Card Sign-Up Month, and this year’s theme, “One Card, Endless Possibilities,” said it all. Today’s libraries offer far more than shelves of books. You can take a class, attend an event, borrow a DVD—even check out a cake pan in some spots.

But as Iowa City Press-Citizen reporter Jessica Rish points out, this celebration comes at a tense time. Book bans are spreading through Iowa’s public schools, and Executive Order 14238 would dismantle seven federal agencies, including the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)—the agency that helps fund and support libraries across the country.

Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Association and access services coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library, says libraries are still one of the best ways to strengthen our communities.

“The important thing is to use your library—use as many as you’d like. Use them prolifically. Get your voice in the space,” Helmick told Iowa City Press-Citizen. “Be aware of the federal and state implications of funding, which is important because you pay federal taxes, and you deserve to benefit from them.”

So if you haven’t renewed your library card lately—or signed up for one—this might be the perfect time to do it.

Thanks for reading. This newsletter was written by Amie Rivers with stories from USA Today Network via Reuters Connect. It was edited by Paula Solis.

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