Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and has been held during the last week of September since 1982. While most books on the list were not completely banned, many have been challenged for one these three reasons: 1. the material was considered to be "sexually explicit" 2. the material contained "offensive language" 3. the material was "unsuited to any age group."
Intellectual freedom is an important part of our First Amendment Rights and in the words of Supreme Court Justice, William J. Brennan, Jr., “If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable.
As I attended a Young Adult Literature conference last year, I was struck by a statement made by author Barry Lyga (Astonishing Adventures of Fanboy & Goth Girl, Hero Type, Boy Toy), who commented on the lack of sales of one of his newer books. “It’s one thing to take a book away and leave a void, but another to never even let it exist.” It turned out that the low sales were in part due to a major bookstore not even putting his book on the shelves because it was afraid of the subject matter.
In an article for the American Library Association (ALA), Peter P. Doyle states: “Attempts to censor can lead to voluntary restriction of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy; in these cases, material may not be published at all or may not be purchased by a bookstore, library, or school district.”
You might be surprised by some of the titles that have been challenged. To learn more about Banned Books Week and find lists, go to: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/index.cfm
For displays and more lists, visit Marshall Public Library during September.
--Kath Ann Hendricks, Young Adult Librarian
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