Spring Break
10/07 Column: Celebrating Banned Books Week
Emily Rutherford '12
Issue date: 11/3/08 Section: Opinion
Americans are fond of drawing attention to their favorite causes with commemorative "weeks," and defenders of the First Amendment are no exception. The first week of October is designated "Banned Books Week" by the American Library Association (ALA) and other organizations, in order to "celebrate the freedom to read."
This freedom is legitimately under threat in many areas of the country, where parents and community members frequently request that books that contain "objectionable" material be removed from school or public library shelves. The ALA keeps track of the written requests for removal, or challenges, that libraries receive; it probably comes as very little surprise to note that the Harry Potter books, for their support of "witchcraft," top the list of frequently challenged books of the 21st century. However, 2007 is the first year that a Harry Potter installment was not on the ALA's list-that spot went to And Tango Makes Three, a picture book about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin together, which has been criticized for its "homosexual" themes. The list frequently includes health education
books like It's Perfectly Normal, books that accurately portray teenage life like The Perks of Being a Wall Flower, or books that espouse views not considered politically correct today, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is criticized on an annual basis for its use of a certain slur beginning with "n."
One might question the point of Banned Books Week. Is it any more successful at raising awareness than School Nurses Week or Healthy Eating Week? More publicity for libraries' freedom to stock whatever books they choose was generated by the rumor that Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, when mayor of Wasilla, AK, asked the Wasilla Public Library about the process of banning certain children's books.
But the fact that a mayor might even be thought to have proposed such an idea is an indication that awareness does need to be raised. And if we can't seem to respect the Constitution all year round, maybe it takes one special week of concentrated banned-books celebration to do it. Every year, I make an effort to read a once-banned book during Banned Books Week-it's the least I can do to celebrate the fact that, without the First Amendment to the Constitution, such a book might not ever have been published.
This freedom is legitimately under threat in many areas of the country, where parents and community members frequently request that books that contain "objectionable" material be removed from school or public library shelves. The ALA keeps track of the written requests for removal, or challenges, that libraries receive; it probably comes as very little surprise to note that the Harry Potter books, for their support of "witchcraft," top the list of frequently challenged books of the 21st century. However, 2007 is the first year that a Harry Potter installment was not on the ALA's list-that spot went to And Tango Makes Three, a picture book about two male penguins who raise a baby penguin together, which has been criticized for its "homosexual" themes. The list frequently includes health education
books like It's Perfectly Normal, books that accurately portray teenage life like The Perks of Being a Wall Flower, or books that espouse views not considered politically correct today, like The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which is criticized on an annual basis for its use of a certain slur beginning with "n."
One might question the point of Banned Books Week. Is it any more successful at raising awareness than School Nurses Week or Healthy Eating Week? More publicity for libraries' freedom to stock whatever books they choose was generated by the rumor that Republican Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin, when mayor of Wasilla, AK, asked the Wasilla Public Library about the process of banning certain children's books.
But the fact that a mayor might even be thought to have proposed such an idea is an indication that awareness does need to be raised. And if we can't seem to respect the Constitution all year round, maybe it takes one special week of concentrated banned-books celebration to do it. Every year, I make an effort to read a once-banned book during Banned Books Week-it's the least I can do to celebrate the fact that, without the First Amendment to the Constitution, such a book might not ever have been published.
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