“During the WWI, the Library of the University of Louvain, in Belgium, was destroyed as a result of the German invasion. Within a few hours, over 300,000 books, as well as many precious manuscripts and incunabula, were all reduced to ashes.”
Beacon for freedom of expression
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BIBLIOTHECA ALEXANDRINA

IFEX

IFLA
Meyebela by Taslima Nasrin

Banned books exhibition
Beacon for Freedom of Expression presents an exhibition of selected books and newspapers banned through the ages. The books shown are just a fraction of the 55,000 titles included in our data base. >>More

Ancient Alexandria: A Beacon of Enlightenment
Generously written for the Beacon web site by professor Mostafa El-Abbadi. >More

Selected countries and periods of time
Countries on all continents were initially selected for detailed recordings of censored books and newspapers through the ages. See the list of countries and links to libraries, reports, articles and other relevant sites. >More

You can search the database by entering either of the two links:
Censored books and newspapers and illegal publications
Contains data on current and historic censorship from selected historical periods and countries on all continents.
Publications on censorship and freedom of expression
Contains data from sources world wide. Including current reports and books, as well as publications out of print.

Beacon for Freedom of Expression has been produced by the Norwegian Forum for Freedom of Expression (1995-2001). From 2007 the database is managed by an International Board hosted by the National Library of Norway. The database was produced in collaboration with tutors and students at the Faculty of Journalism, Library and Information Science at the Oslo University College.

Throughout the entire planning and production period, Ravn Webveveriet A/S has been the expert technical advisor to the Steering Committee and the project management. >More

IN FOCUS

Current Management
Since 2007 the National Library of Norway has been in charge of the web site and the database. The library now manages both on a permanent basis in cooperation with an international board.
>More [2007-06-08]