What do J.K. Rowling, Kurt Vonnegut, John Steinbeck, Judy Blume, Mark Twain, Alice Walker, J.D. Salinger, Maya Angelou, Aldous Huxley, Ray Bradbury and Toni Morrison have in common?

Popular writers most of us should be exposed to in our literary development? Authors who capture and expose societal fabric in captivating and meaningful fashion? Social agitators worthy of being pulled from library shelves?

While any of the options apply, we are compelled to focus on the last choice in honor of Banned Books Week. All of the authors named above show up on the top 100 list of either banned or challenged books from 2000 to 2007, according to the American Library Association. The specific titles usually are charged with having racist, sexually explicit, anti-family, offensive or unsuitable content.

We are comforted the Hays Public Library has 85 percent of the titles in its catalog.

As one local staff member explained, "Libraries do not protect society's values; libraries protect liberty."

Well put. Our constitutional right to freely express ourselves would be rather meaningless if works were unavailable to the public. In fact, the ALA's mission includes these words: "We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources."

Books -- and other works of art -- should not be banned. The responsibility of access should fall on the individual or, in the case of minors, on the individual's guardian. Individuals and groups should not pursue limiting someone else's access to literature.

During this year's Banned Books Week, we applaud librarians everywhere who work tirelessly to educate the citizenry. And we encourage the Hays Public Library to get its hands on the remaining 15 percent of the top banned books.

Celebrate reading. Celebrate freedom. Celebrate democracy.

Editorial by Patrick Lowry

plowry@dailynews.net