Subject Heading Search in Library Central for books and more
Use these subject headings to Search for books in Library Central as SUBJECT. (one at a time)
Books on this topic will appear.
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Library Central This link opens in a new windowLibrary Central combines SAU's book catalog and most of our databases into one unified searching interface. Use Library Central if you're looking to find a wide variety of sources with a minimum amount of searching. The sheer volume of results can be overwhelming, however, so use lots of search filters!
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Censorship
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Censorship AND Prohibited books
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Textbooks -- Censorship -- United States
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Critical race theory
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LGBTQ AND censorship
Selected titles found in SAU Library
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Rainbow Family Collections : selecting and using children's books with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer content
by
Call Number: Third Floor Stacks Z1037 .N24 2012ISBN: 9781598849608Publication Date: 2012"Highlighting titles for children from infancy to age 12, each entry in Rainbow Family Collections supplies a synopsis of the content, lists awards it has received, cites professional reviews, and provides suggestions for acquisition. The book also provides a brief historical overview of LGBTQ children's literature along with the major book awards for this genre and a list of criteria for selecting the best books with this content. Interviews with authors and key individuals in LGBTQ children's book publishing are also featured"
SAU users only
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subject("Critical race theory") AND censor*ProQuest Central article search: Scholarly articles list.
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abstract("critical race theory" ) AND educationProQuest Central articles, SAU users only
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abstract("book ban" OR "book banned" OR "book banning" OR "book censorship" OR "banned book" OR "banned books") AND educationProQuest Central articles, SAU users only
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"book banning"Ebscohost article search, SAU users only
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"critical race theory" AND censorshipEbscohost article result list, SAU users only
Databases at SAU
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Education Database This link opens in a new windowThis creatively-named education database from ProQuest contains over 1,100 full-text scholarly journals and over 100 full-text magazines.
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Education Research Complete This link opens in a new windowThis education database from EBSCO contains over 1,000 full-text scholarly journals.
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ERIC (Education Resources Information Center) This link opens in a new windowThis education database from EBSCO contains nearly 300,000 scholarly full-text articles, 350,000 full-text reports, and nearly 3,500 full-text eBooks. Coverage is from the early 1900s-present. A very widely-used database for education majors.
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Chronicle of Higher Education This link opens in a new windowThe Chronicle of Higher Education is the premier source of news, information, and employment postings for the higher education sector.
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JSTOR This link opens in a new windowThis interdisciplinary database contains over 2,800 full-text scholarly journals; 30,000 full-text eBooks; 40,000 full-text research reports; and as of 2025, also now includes the entirety of the Artstor database.
Persuasive/Argumentative paper resources
- Opposing Viewpoints This link opens in a new windowThis current events database from Gale contains viewpoints, news, reference content, scholarly articles, and video on 100s of today's hottest topics. Each topic is presented in a pro/con format with balanced and comprehensive resources. A great resource for speeches and debates.
- CQ (Congressional Quarterly) Researcher This link opens in a new window
This background and reference database contains over 4,500 full-text reports on a variety of topics and current affairs. The reports are scholarly and well-referenced, but also quite readable. If you find a report on your topic you will have a great source!
What is considered pornography?
What about pornography in schools?
"Librarians and educators choose books for their literary and educational value. Books banned in American schools do not fit the well-established legal and colloquial definitions of “pornography” or “indecency.” Material can only be deemed ‘obscene’ if it meets three criteria outlined in the Miller test, which asks if the average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that a work taken as a whole: The books that have been targeted for removal in American public schools with few, if any, exceptions, would manifestly fail this test. Books should always be evaluated in their entirety, not judged by an illustration or passage taken out of context."
Selected Web sites
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Banned and Challenged BooksA resource page from the American Library Association
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Banned in the USA: Beyond the ShelvesFrom PEN America
"For the last three school years, PEN America has recorded instances of book bans in public schools nationwide. In that time, efforts to erase certain stories and identities from school libraries have not only intensified; book bans have become a bellwether of the chilling of public education writ large. As this report on the 2023-24 school year documents, the last school year was no different, as censorial trends have continued to ripple beyond the shelves." -
Banned Books About Black HistoryFrom PEN
These 10 Black history books that were banned in the 2023-2024 school year, according to PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans, are a great place to start. -
PEN America index of school book bans – 2023-2024A spreadsheet of book titles and states
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With Rising Book Bans, Librarians Have Come Under Attack"Caustic fights over which books belong on the shelves have put librarians at the center of a bitter and widening culture war."
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Here Are the Nearly 400 Books Wilson County Tennessee Has Banned From Its Schools"Among the banned authors are Kurt Vonnegut, Toni Morrison, Alice Sebold, George R.R. Martin, Judy Blume and more"
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Example of a Conservative parental rights group that advocates banning."The group lobbied for a bill banning “sensitive materials” in schools. Such measures have helped push books bans to record levels in the last two years..."
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State Laws Are Behind Many Book Bans, Even Indirectly, Report FindsFrom 'Education Week'
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Iowa Attorney General Bird Leads 14-State Coalition Defending State Ban on Indoctrination in SchoolsAn example of Iowa's stance on critical race theory - from July 10, 2024
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Teachers Win “Banned Concepts” Lawsuit"A state law that limited what teachers could say around race, gender, sexuality and disabilities was ruled unconstitutional, thanks to a union-led lawsuit"
From NEAtoday -
‘Us vs Them’: A Toxic Vision of Parent Engagementfrom the National Education Association
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H.R.5 - Parents Bill of Rights Act118th Congress (2023-2024) (Introduced 03/01/2023) House of Representatives
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Standridge files bills to address indoctrination in Oklahoma schoolsA Primary source (press release) : An example of the sort of legislative action being introduced in many states. This is from Oklahoma.
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Articles on CensorshipFrom The Conversation: " trustworthy and informative articles written by academic experts for the general public and edited by our team of journalists."
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Articles on Book BansFrom The Conversation: a unique collaboration between academics and journalists that is the world’s leading publisher of research-based news and analysis.
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BOOK CHALLENGE RESOURCE CENTERFrom the National Coalition against Censorship: An example of the pushback against banning.
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Why are states banning critical race theory?from the Brookings Institute
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Florida Is Looking to Expand 'Don't Say Gay' Law. What Does This Mean for Educators?from "Education Week"
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First Amendment and Censorshipfrom the American Library Association
SocIndex with Full Text
- SocINDEX with Full Text This link opens in a new windowThis sociology database from EBSCO contains over 850 full-text scholarly journals. Widely considered the premier database in sociology.
- Research Library: Social Sciences This link opens in a new windowThis social sciences database from ProQuest contains nearly 1,900 full-text scholarly journals and nearly 350 magazines pertaining to the fields of social sciences (the 5 most prominent social science fields being economics, education, political science, psychology, and sociology).
Legal Journals and News
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Nexis Uni This link opens in a new windowThis interdisciplinary database includes over 17,000 full-text news sources. Also includes a wealth of company/financial information and a variety of legal cases.
Full-Text e-book collection
- Credo Reference This link opens in a new windowThis background and reference database contains over 1,200 encyclopedias, handbooks, and other reference works. Contains nearly 3,500,000 full-text articles and/or chapters. Think of it as a Wikipedia you can use in your papers!
SAU Users Only
Interlibrary Loan - Obtaining materials
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SAU Library Interlibrary Loan portalSign in with your SAU credentials and fill out the form for the book or article you need full-text.
A note to users concerning database searching
If you are not an St. Ambrose University user, your local public library may have access to various databases that are subscription based. Call and ask your public library for details.