Happy Banned Books Week!
Hi everyone, and happy Banned Books Week! This week is like librarian Christmas. But instead of getting presents, we all talk about our most excellent freedom to read whatever we want, the books that have been targeted the most in the past year, and how we can open up dialog with our varied communities on the importance of being free to read anything we like. While Banned Books Week is an excellent way to celebrate freedom of information and access to information, it’s a little bit of a misnomer.
When we think of a book being banned, we think of it has having been removed entirely from a library, school, or book shop. This actually rarely happens. Far more often, books get challenged. The ALA defines a challenge as “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.” Perhaps Banned Book Week has better alliteration than Challenged Book Week, or has a more dramatic flair. But the bottom line for either term in regard to our celebration of the week is that no one person or group has the right to decide what everyone should and should not be reading.
A lot of times, books that get challenged are books for children and teens. This makes sense as small children and even teens don’t always make their own reading choices. Parents and other supervising adults feel protective of their young people and that’s natural. Another type of book that gets challenged fairly regularly is the graphic novel, partly because young patrons check them out and partly because images convey ideas more clearly than words sometimes. But, we have to remember that one one person finds offensive, another is completely okay with. It’s up to us as individuals to make our own reading choices and when it comes to those who can’t yet do that, choose whether or not to use controversial material as a teaching moment or save it for another time. Banned Books Week is all about the celebration of these freedoms.
The American Library Association helps ensure our freedom to read year after year. For more information on the ALA and Banned Books Week, check out this link. For a look at the most challenged books by year, you can click here. Are there books on the yearly lists that you’ve read? Good job, you biblio-rebel!
Post by Carey Gibbons, Reference Specialist
About #FDL
Welcome to #FDL! #FDL is a twice weekly update on all things Fondulac District Library and East Peoria. Twice a week, library staff will make posts that highlight some aspect of library life and relate it to you – our readers. Have you ever wanted to know which Dewey number represented a certain topic? Are you looking for book recommendations based on your favorite television show or television recommendations based on your favorite book? Have you ever wondered about the secret details of librarian life? If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then #FDL is for you. We look forward to writing posts that are informative and entertaining and hope that you enjoy getting better acquainted with Fondulac District Library.