Banned Books Essay Contest has ended. Thank you to all who participated. See the list of WINNERS HERE!

Banned—In the context of books, "banned" means the book is removed from a program, library, or school—and in some cases, private ownership of the book is outlawed. 

Censored - refers to the status of words in the book being covered so their visibility is obscured. As a practice, books can have controversial words and phrases obscured with substances or items such as permanent markers or whiteouts. 

Challenged - refers to the status of a book as not necessarily banned, but through formal or informal proposals or suggestions, the book's status would be up for debate. When a book fails to get banned, it is said to be "retained," and access to it remains unhindered. 

Expurgated - a form of book censorship that omits words, phrases, or even entire pages of text from a book.