Or at least, books dealing with these topics are.
Dunedin Libraries is marking Banned Book Week, recognising books historically banned or restricted in New Zealand or overseas.
Services director Sarah Gallagher said libraries were about ensuring the public could have access to a wide range of information to make decisions for themselves.
"When you dig into it, it tells you something about that society at the time that they made the decision to ban the book," she said.
In the past few years, New Zealand libraries had recorded increases in people challenging what books could be part of collections.
"Taking things out and not returning them or ... turning [books on display] over," she said.
"It can be quite subtle things like that, but that is a challenge — somebody trying to prevent somebody else from seeing or accessing information that they might be interested in based on a particular individual’s own personal beliefs."
Topics like politics, sex, drugs, gender, violence, ethnicity and war were often challenged books, particularly in the current global political situation.
Lending services supervisor Laura Shepard said, historically, banning books backfired.
"It’s kind of a good sign, though, that people are threatened by books because it means people think this book still has power," Ms Shepard said.
"Reading gives us windows into other worlds, other perspectives, and helps us build empathy for others.
"We’ve got to read a world of perspectives to be able to navigate this world."
Events co-ordinator Ali Boyne said a display, complete with a mug-shot wall, was a way of getting the public to engage in a conversation about banned books and why they were banned, reasons which could been seen as silly through a modern lens.
"The Lorax was banned in a state in America because they felt that it would shine a negative light on the logging industry and that children wouldn’t want to go into forestry."
The event had been well received by the public and some people were eager to read as many banned books as possible, she said.
