By Yvonne Carmicheal, Collection Management Administrator
This September as The Library begins our blog, it’s only fitting to focus on the importance of the Freedom to Read during this, the month when many libraries talk about or often have displays on banned and challenged books.
It’s good to remind ourselves that the Freedom to Read should not be taken for granted. Sometimes people try to censor ideas by demanding that materials be banned from the shelves of bookstores, libraries, and educational institutions. Doing so, even when done with good intentions, threatens your access to information and denies you the right to decide for yourself what you want to read, listen to, or view.
Here is just a sampling of titles that some have tried to have banned from libraries and schools over the years.
Morris Micklewhite and the Tangerine Dress
By: Christine Baldacchino
About: A young boy who faces adversity from classmates when he wears an orange dress to school.
When Challenged: 2016 & 2019.
Challenged because: Some felt the storyline encourages a LBGTQIA+ lifestyle.
The Handmaid’s Tale
By: Margaret Atwood
About: A woman living in a repressive world where women are no longer allowed to read and only valued if they’re able to reproduce.
When Challenged: Multiple years, most recently 2018.
Challenged because: Of vulgar language and sexual depictions.
Thirteen Reasons Why
By: Jay Asher
About: A high school student receives 13 tapes recorded by a fellow student who recounts events leading up to her death by suicide.
When Challenged: Multiple years, most recently 2018.
Challenged because: Of profanity, alcohol use, sexual material and depiction of a suicide.
Drama
By: Raina Telgemeier
About: A middle schooler’s emotional relationships with classmates while serving on the stage crew of the school’s theater production.
When Challenged: Multiple years, most recently 2019
Challenged because: Protagonist has LBGTQIA+ friend, and political viewpoints.
A Time to Kill
By: John Grisham
About: A Southern town becomes shocked when a 10-year-old black girl is raped. Then the girl’s father takes the law into his own hands.
When Challenged: 2006.
Challenged because: Of graphic murder and rape scenes.
The Bluest Eye
By: Toni Morrison
About: A young black girl yearns for the blond hair and blue eyes she believes will help her to fit in. But her life slowly disintegrates in the face of adversity and strife.
When Challenged: Multiple years, most recently 2018.
Challenged because: Of sexual situations—rape, incest, and teen pregnancy.
The problem with censorship is it impedes our Freedom to Read and “. . . leaves us in the dark by extinguishing information and silencing challenging discussions. But there are places that keep the light on, allowing everyone to access materials from an array of viewpoints.” * Libraries are places that keep the lights on. Thankfully, the titles shown above are still available at your Library for you and others to read, learn from and ponder, and that is because The Library is a place that keeps the light shining in our communities, so people, like you, have access to many different titles, topics and viewpoints.
Visit us again soon, and during Banned Books Week, from September 22-28, 2019. If you want to find out more now, view the top 10 most challenged titles from 1990-2018.
Happy Discovery!
* (ALA website – ala.org.advocacy/bbooks/shop)