VC/UHV Library hosts reading during Banned Books Week

Kristen Kelly, right, an interlibrary loan associate at the Victoria College/University of Houston-Victoria Library, grimaces Thursday as she reads a passage from “The Handmaid’s Tale” by Margaret Atwood. Kelly dressed as a handmaid from the story. Eden Gonzalez, a technical services assistant for the library, acts as a member of the state police from the tale. The VC/UHV Library hosted a Banned Books Week Read Out to raise awareness and show the variety of books challenged or banned in the U.S. During the event, attendees heard excerpts from many books, including “Go Tell it on the Mountain” by James Baldwin, “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee, “Madame Bovary” by Gustave Flaubert, “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck and “In the Night Kitchen” by Maurice Sendak.

The University of Houston-Victoria, located in the heart of the Coastal Bend region since 1973 in Victoria, Texas, offers courses leading to more than 80 academic programs in the schools of Arts & Sciences; Business Administration; and Education, Health Professions & Human Development. UHV provides face-to-face classes at its Victoria campus, as well as an instructional site in Katy, Texas, and online classes that students can take from anywhere. UHV supports the American Association of State Colleges and Universities Opportunities for All initiative to increase awareness about state colleges and universities and the important role they have in providing a high-quality and accessible education to an increasingly diverse student population, as well as contributing to regional and state economic development.