ala.org/bbooks
Sunday, September 23rd is the start of Banned Book Week. In its 36th year, the 2018 theme is "Banning Books Silences Stories."
Sponsored by the ALA (American Libraries Association), their goal is "to teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society." BBW began in 1982 in response to a "sudden surge" in attempts to have books removed or restricted from library shelves. Click here to see just a smidgen of what's been declared "banned."
According to the ALA, a book must first be challenged before being banned and there are hundreds of challenges per year. The leading causes are sexually explicit content, inappropriate subjects for children and offensive language. Obviously, banning mostly takes place in a school library setting rather than your public library where the librarians are dedicated to their collection development.
Some of the reasons for restricting certain titles are as follows: Harry Potter series (which is still wildly popular) for "glorifying witchcraft."; The Great Gatsby for profanity; Where the Wild Things Are - Max was sent to bed without his supper; and finally the classic Catcher in the Rye - "just a filthy, filthy book."
Stop by the library this week to see which of your favorite reads have been deemed inappropriate.
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