Are books like “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” or the Harry Potter series available at your public or school library?
Columbia, SC – Are books like “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” or the Harry Potter series available at your public or school library? According to the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), due to book challenges, more than a book a day faces removal from public access in school and public libraries. Challenges are defined as formal, written complaints filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness.
In many cases, it is only through public intervention that books are saved from confiscation or from being kept under lock and key. This Sept. 27 – Oct. 4, 2008, Americans will celebrate their freedom to read by reading a banned book during Banned Books Week. This year will mark the 27th annual celebration of the freedom to read, as thousands of libraries and bookstores nationwide host exhibits, readings and special events.
Each year, the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom receives hundreds of reports on books and other materials that were "challenged" by people who asked that they be removed from school or library shelves. There were 420 known attempts to remove books in 2007, and more than 9,600 attempts since the ALA’s OIF began to electronically compile and publish information on book challenges in 1990. Unfortunately, it is believed that for every challenge or banning reported to OIF, there are four to five incidents not reported.
“Banned Books Week has been celebrated for 27 years. The celebration provides a reminder to all that the freedom to read is an essential component of our free and democratic society. Individuals must have the freedom to choose what materials are suitable for themselves and their families,” said State Library Director, David Goble. He continued to say that he “would like to encourage South Carolina families to visit their local public library and enjoy an essential freedom.”
Most book challenges reported to OIF have been reported from schools (71 percent) and public libraries (24 percent). Parents lodged 61 percent of the book challenges, followed by library patrons at 15 percent and administrators at 9 percent.
“We must remain vigilant to assure that would-be censors do not threaten the very basis of our democracy – the freedom to choose,” said Judith F. Krug, director, OIF. “Since our society is so diverse, libraries and bookstores have a responsibility to provide materials that reflect the interests of all of their patrons.”
Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Association of College Stores and is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
For more information on book challenges and censorship, please visit the ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom’s Banned Books Web site at www.ala.org/bbooks.
