What do the following books have in common? Little Red Riding Hood, Gone With the Wind, Green Eggs and Ham, Anne
Frank: The Diary of a Young Girl, Winnie
the Pooh, To Kill a Mockingbird, Charlotte's Web and Shakespeare's Twelfth Night. Books that most
folks have or will likely read during their lifetime? Yup. Books
that deservedly reside on America's bookshelf of cultural literacy? Yup,
again. Books one can find in school and public libraries across the
nation? Yup, a third time. Yet, there is still one more common
thread that binds these books. You see, on multiple occasions across decades,
each of these renowned books has been banned. Banned? Yup, banned!
One might ask what exactly that means. Simply put, it means that someone other than you took it upon themselves to decide what you should and should not be able to read and/or what specific gymnastics you must go through in order to be able to read a book of your choice. Now, how does that sound to you? To me, it sounds highly controlling, enormously arrogant, completely absurd and downright scary.
If there's a book I want to read or not read, then I want to be the one - and the only one - who makes that decision. For the life of me I can't fathom what is so suspect and fearful about that to someone else. Yet for some folks, the freedom to read is seen as being quite revolutionary, fraught with life-altering peril should it be exercised without their input or direction. So some of those same folks deal with that potential catastrophe by exercising what they believe to be their moral responsibility. That is, to appoint themselves as the judges and juries of censorship and then proceed to decide what is and is not appropriate for me, you, and everyone else to read. Yikes!
So what can we book and freedom lovers do? We can join libraries across the country as they celebrate Banned Book Week, which according to the America Library Association, "brings together the entire book community – librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers and readers of all types - in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular." In others words, we can be true blue Americans waving and protecting the flag of freedom.
All of us at Neill Public Library encourage everyone to do as Voltaire said - to “think [and read] for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too" during National Banned Book Week and every week of the year. We encourage and welcome you to join us in celebrating the freedom to read. We have thousands of books to choose from, with something to offend everyone. As librarians, that's our responsibility and we take it very seriously. So, visit us to find some books of YOUR choice and celebrate your freedom to read!
One might ask what exactly that means. Simply put, it means that someone other than you took it upon themselves to decide what you should and should not be able to read and/or what specific gymnastics you must go through in order to be able to read a book of your choice. Now, how does that sound to you? To me, it sounds highly controlling, enormously arrogant, completely absurd and downright scary.
If there's a book I want to read or not read, then I want to be the one - and the only one - who makes that decision. For the life of me I can't fathom what is so suspect and fearful about that to someone else. Yet for some folks, the freedom to read is seen as being quite revolutionary, fraught with life-altering peril should it be exercised without their input or direction. So some of those same folks deal with that potential catastrophe by exercising what they believe to be their moral responsibility. That is, to appoint themselves as the judges and juries of censorship and then proceed to decide what is and is not appropriate for me, you, and everyone else to read. Yikes!
So what can we book and freedom lovers do? We can join libraries across the country as they celebrate Banned Book Week, which according to the America Library Association, "brings together the entire book community – librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers and readers of all types - in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular." In others words, we can be true blue Americans waving and protecting the flag of freedom.
All of us at Neill Public Library encourage everyone to do as Voltaire said - to “think [and read] for yourself and let others enjoy the privilege to do so too" during National Banned Book Week and every week of the year. We encourage and welcome you to join us in celebrating the freedom to read. We have thousands of books to choose from, with something to offend everyone. As librarians, that's our responsibility and we take it very seriously. So, visit us to find some books of YOUR choice and celebrate your freedom to read!
Kathleen Ahern,
Youth Service Librarian
published in Moscow Pullman Daily News, September 28, 2013.
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