Banned
Surprisingly, kids may be able to upset their parent by reading books.
Beginning Sept. 26, the Logan Library, USU Bookstore and others across the nation have been celebrating rights and reading during Banned Books Week.
Since 1982, the last week of September has been declared Banned Books Week. According to the American Library Association, this is not just a celebration of reading, but also recognition of the rights provided by the First Amendment, the freedom of speech and press. This also encompasses the freedom to express opinion, the freedom to have access to literature that conveys different ideas and the freedom to choose among that literature.
“[Some] people have complained before, but then we explain about the freedom to read. You can’t deny a community [the right] to read a certain book,” said Karen Clark, a librarian from the Logan City Library.
Harry S. Truman said, “They are part of America. And even if they think ideas that are contrary to ours, their right to have them at places where they’re accessible to others is unquestioned, or it’s not America.”
The First Amendment thus allows for the expression and publication of all views, issues and ideas. But not all are in agreement about every issue. Disagreement stemming from these views sometimes causes the opposing sectors to pursue the censorship of the offending article.
Censorship is defined as the suppression of information that is potentially harmful. Books that are banned or censored have been given this definition, others have only been challenged. The American Library Association defines the difference as, “A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials.”
This week provides an opportunity for libraries and bookstores to increase awareness about the issues of censorship and banning. The Utah State Bookstore offered a 25 percent discount on banned books this week.
The Logan Public Library has displays and recommends that patrons check out a banned book. The library also has information available about the history of banned books.
Schools have also used this week to discuss censorship and to introduce classic literature which as often been banned or challenged, such as “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee.
And while some use this opportunity to teach about these subjects, other schools have become the battleground for books, with most challenges issuing from parents who do not approve books that are in the current curriculum. including a 1990 case, when a traditional version of “Little Red Riding Hood” was pulled from some schools because of the wine brought to the grandmother it was reported to “condone the use of alcohol.”
Other challenges by parents and members of the community are brought to the extreme. In February 2005, a high school in Norwood, Colo., banned the book “Bless Me, Ultima” by Rudolfo Anaya. This book is on Laura Bush’s List of Recommended Reading and the author was awarded the National Medal of Arts for his work by President George W. Bush. Despite the endorsements, the book was pulled from the school because of a complaint about profanity and after the ban was implemented, the superintendent then gave the school’s copies – for the purpose of being destroyed – to the parent who challenged the book.
Karen Clark says the library’s advice is for parents to monitor what their children check out. That way, books are still available, but patrons can decide what belongs in their own home.
Judy Blume, a prominent children’s author, said, “It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship.”
The ALA provides a list, based upon 6,364 reported challenges, of the 100 most frequently challenged books. Among them are titles such as “Where’s Waldo,” “Huckleberry Finn” and “Of Mice and Men.” For the complete list, visit www.ala.org.
Banned Books Week is endorsed by the Center for the Books of the Library of Congress and is sponsored by the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, Authors, the National Association of College Stores and the American Library Association.
-eliseras@cc.usu.edu