Thursday, September 22, 2011

Banned book week

Okay, I'm piggy-backing off Marianne Wheelaghan's blog entry and am talking about Banned Book Week next week. Every year, this event "highlightes 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."

Some of the books challenged in 2010:
Brave New World by Aldous Huxley
Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie

What's the difference between a challenge and a banning?
According to the American Library Association, "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. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. Due to the commitment of librarians, teachers, parents, students and other concerned citizens, most challenges are unsuccessful and most materials are retained in the school curriculum or library collection."

Can you imagine a world without Aldous Huxley, Judy Blume, or Toni Morrison, all of whom have been challenged? Scary!

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