From September 21 to 27 we celebrate Banned Books Week. We celebrate our freedom to read and our freedom to choose what we want to read.
To be honest I didn´t know, for a very long time, that there is such a thing like the list of challenged&banned books. It is absurd that there are people who are willing to make an effort to ban someone from reading a book.
In this week I encourage everyone to read at least one of the books from the list I will be re-reading Looking for Alaska by John Green. Tell me in the comments what will you be reading this week.
FROM WIKIPEDIA:
History:
Banned Books Week was founded in 1982 by prominent
First Amendment and library activist
Judith Krug It is sponsored by the
American Library Association (ALA), the
American Booksellers Association,
American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE),
American Society of Journalists and Authors,
Association of American Publishers, National Association of College Stores, and endorsed by the
Center for the Book in the
Library of Congress.
USA event
It has been held during the last full week of September since 1982.
Banned Books Week not only encourages readers to examine challenged literary works, but also promotes
intellectual freedom in
libraries, schools, and
bookstores.
Its 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."
Offering Banned Books Week kits, the ALA sells posters, buttons, and bookmarks to celebrate the event.
Many educational facilities also celebrate banned and challenged
books during this week, often creating displays and programs around the
awareness campaign. Additionally, various booksellers sponsor activities
and events in support of Banned Books Week. Some retailers create
window displays, while others go further, inviting authors of banned and
challenged materials to come speak at their stores, as well as funding
annual essay contests about freedom of expression. Educational
facilities and booksellers also sponsor "read outs," allowing
participants to read aloud passages from their favorite banned books.
International event
Amnesty International
also celebrates Banned Books Week by directing attention to individuals
"persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or
read."
Its web site documents "focus cases" annually which show individuals
who have been reportedly killed, incarcerated, or otherwise harassed by
national authorities around the world, and urge people to "take action"
to help it in partnership with its "Urgent Action Network" by contacting
authorities regarding
human rights violations.
They also provide updates to cases from previous years, giving a
history and current status of people who have been allegedly persecuted
for their writings. The cases include individuals from
Azerbaijan,
China,
Cuba,
Egypt,
Gambia,
Iran,
Myanmar,
Russia, and
Sri Lanka.
Reception
The event has been praised for celebrating the freedom provided by the
First Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Public events where banned and challenged books are read aloud are commonly held to celebrate the event.
The international event held by Amnesty International has also been
praised for reminding people about the price that some people pay for
expressing controversial views.
Boston Globe columnist Jeff Jacoby noted that the overwhelming
number of books on the list were books that were simply challenged
(primarily by parents for violence, language, sexuality, or
age-appropriateness), not actually removed.
Mitchell Muncy writing in the
Wall Street Journal has alleged that the
censorship being protested in the event does not exist, and that books are not banned in the United States.
Camila Alire, a former president of the ALA, responded that Banned
Books Week highlights "the hundreds of documented attempts to suppress
access to information that take place each year across the U.S.," and
that "when the library is asked to restrict access for others, that does
indeed reflect an attempt at censorship."
Former ALA Councilor
Jessamyn West said:
| “ |
It also highlights the thing
we know about Banned Books Week that we don't talk about much — the bulk
of these books are challenged by parents for being age-inappropriate
for children. While I think this is still a formidable thing for
librarians to deal with, it's totally different from people trying to
block a book from being sold at all. |
” |
| |
— Jessamyn West of Librarian.net
|
Doug Archer, librarian and past chair of the ALA's Intellectual
Freedom Committee, responds that such criticisms do not fairly address
the threat of censorship:
| “ |
The argument goes thusly.
Most books on the annual ALA list of banned and challenged books were
“only” challenged, never banned. Even if some were removed from
libraries, they are still available for purchase in book stores.
Therefore, censorship hasn’t really happened because the government
hasn't banned the books. .... Just because libraries and librarians have
been so good at defending the freedom of the public to read as they
choose, means that we're being dishonest? No, it just means we're doing
our job. |
” |
| |
— Doug Archer of the American Library Association
|
The conservative organization
Focus on the Family
regularly challenges Banned Books Week, claiming that books are not
really banned, and that libraries' policies are anti-family.
Tom Minnery, vice president of public policy, said, "The ALA has
irresponsibly perpetrated the 'banned' books lie for too long...Nothing
is 'banned,' but every year this organization attempts to intimidate and
silence any parent, teacher or librarian who expresses concern about
the age-appropriateness of sexually explicit or violent material for
schoolchildren."
Candi Cushman, Focus on the Family's education analyst, said that
"parents have every right and responsibility to object to their kids
receiving sexually explicit and pro-gay literature without their
permission, especially in a school setting";
pointing out that the children's book
And Tango Makes Three,
about same-sex penguin parents, was one of the books at the top of
ALA's most-challenged list, she criticized the event for its "promotion
of homosexuality to...6- or 7-year-old [children] against their will."
Focus on the Family, as well as
Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays and Gays (PFOX), have criticized the ALA for not using the event to champion
ex-gay books or books opposing same-sex marriage.
Hi guys!
