Celebrate Literature!

Today marks the end of this year’s Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read. Observed the last week in September every year, its purpose is for Americans to rejoice in our First Amendment freedom of speech. Schools, bookshops, and libraries all across the country participate in the celebration of Banned Books Week (BBW). BBW began in 1982, according to the American Library Association (one of BBW’s sponsors). A Resource Guide is compiled every year, listing books that have been challenged or banned. As not all books featured are banned, the ALA website explains that BBW is not called “Challenged Books Week” because challenging books “is an attempt to ban or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group.” BBW creates an awareness of our privilege to access this type of literature and allows people to enjoy it. The website states that although some people try to ban books for “inappropriate” or “offensive” content, “librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents – and only parents – have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children – and only their children – to library resources.” A list of challenged or banned books for 2003-2004, put out by Lamson Library, includes books that are often read in high-school English classes, such as To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Many are children’s books, such as the Harry Potter series or Judy Blume’s Deenie. These and others contain content about racial, religious, and sexual issues, profanity, and abuse, among other topics. A quote from the website, by Noam Chomsky, illustrates the potential future for library literature and suggests that we consider our own views on American freedoms: “If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.” For more information, check out the ALA website at www.ala.org/bbooks.