From September 23rd through September 29th, it's Banned Books Week. This celebration of the freedom to read is organized by several groups, including the American Library Association. Banned Books Week has special significance for me because my own high school banned books while I was a student there, and this became the Supreme Court case Island Trees School District v. Pico.
According to 50 Years of Intellectual Freedom, "Banned Books Week was launched in the 1980s, a time of increased challenges, organized protests, and the Island Trees School District v. Pico (1982) Supreme Court case, which ruled that school officials can’t ban books in libraries simply because of their content."
People might not realize that banning still occurs today. Some terminology and insight from the American Library Association:
"Books are still being banned and challenged today. 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.While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read."
For more information about frequently banned books, visit ALA's website.
"Books are still being banned and challenged today. 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.While books have been and continue to be banned, part of the Banned Books Week celebration is the fact that, in a majority of cases, the books have remained available. This happens only thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, students, and community members who stand up and speak out for the freedom to read."
For more information about frequently banned books, visit ALA's website.
RSS Feed
