Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, Banned Books Week highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.
Not everyone is on board with the ALA's "banned books" rhetoric. A conservative columnist waves the BS flag, stating that books are no longer banned in the USA, and that the ALA's use of charged rhetoric amounts to hype. A progressive librarian echoes this theme, stating that parental challenges to the inclusion of certain books on school reading lists is not at all the same thing as banning books outright.
Another newspaper columnist defends the use of banned books rhetoric, pointing out that removing books from school curricula and libraries is in fact banning, because the intent is to keep students from reading those books. He also points to the new trend of rewriting classics to remove offensive words.
Where do I stand? I think Banned Books Week is right on.
It was an ALA list of the top 50 banned and challenged books, published in connection with Banned Books Week 2009, that reawakened my interest in the subject. Since then I've been reading and reviewing banned and challenged books, and reporting banned book news from around the Americas.
Parental challenges to books on school reading lists and library shelves are not in themselves that big a deal. It is when schools respond by removing books that it becomes a big deal, because it amounts to book-banning. I think it's important to distinguish between challenges and bannings, but as far as "Banned Books Week" goes, I think the rhetoric is fully justified.
They still ban books. They do it all the time. If it weren't for organizations like the ALA or annual observances like Banned Books Week, they'd be getting away with it to a much greater extent than they are.
2 comments:
I talk about "banned or challenged" books, especially when people argue that books are not really being banned. Some folks do complain about books in libraries and in their children's curriculum.
I agree. When I post banned book news roundups at my blog I distinguish between challenged and banned books. But once a book is taken out of a school library, I don't hesitate to use the word "banned" because the intent is to keep kids from reading that book.
Post a Comment