Google Launches Banned Book Search

Google is offering you a chance to read Lolita before it gets pulled from the shelves of your local library. Today, in celebration of the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week (Sept. 23-30), the search giant introduced a Google Books page that helps you locate titles in danger of being banned. The project highlights books that are challenged by schools, political action groups and churches as being offensive or immoral. Google teamed up with the American Library Association to put the project together.

From Google's Banned Book Search:

Every year there are hundreds of attempts to remove great books from libraries, schools and bookstores. In fact, according to the American Library Association, 42 of 100 books recognized by the Radcliffe Publishing Course as the best novels of the 20th century have been challenged or banned.

Google Book Search is our effort to expand the universe of books you can discover, and this week we're joining libraries and bookstores across the country to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Banned Books Week -- a nationwide initiative to help people learn about and explore banned books. You can start by browsing these 42 classics -- books we couldn't be more pleased to highlight.

Google's list, which includes Lolita, Catcher in the Rye, Native Son, Lord of the Flies, Naked Lunch, Their Eyes Were Watching God and The Sun Also Rises, powers a library catalog search. Most of these books aren't available for full download (yet), as they are still under copyright, but you can find a library or a bookstore near you where you can pick up each title and stick it to the man.