Library Association marks Banned Books Week's 26th anniversary

The American Library Association (ALA) and the Ramapo Catskill Library System are endorsing the observance of Banned Books Week, Sept. 29 n Oct. 6, an annual celebration of the right to access books without censorship. This observance commemorates the most basic freedom in a democratic society n the freedom to read freely n and encourages us not to take this freedom for granted. More than a book a day faces expulsion from free and open public access in United States schools and libraries every year. There have been more than 8,700 attempts since the American Library Association (ALA) began electronically compiling and publishing information on book challenges in 1990. “Banned Books Week is about choice and respecting the rights of others to choose for themselves and their families what they wish to read,” says Robert Hubsher, Director of the Ramapo Catskill Library System. “Book banning and challenging has a domino effect. If we stand by and let the first book come off the shelf, we run the risk they will all come tumbling down. American libraries are the cornerstones of our democracy. Libraries are for everyone, everywhere. Because libraries provide free access to a world of information, they bring opportunity to all people.” Twenty-six years after the first observance of Banned Books Week, more than 1,000 people stayed past 1 a.m. debating a request to remove nine books - including “The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien and “Beloved” by Toni Morrison - from a Chicago school district. The books were ultimately retained. “Forever” by Judy Blume was one of more than 70 titles a Fayetteville, Ark., mother requested be removed in 2006. Twenty-five years earlier, the book was restricted in the Park Hill (Mo.) South Junior High School library because the book promotes “the stranglehold of humanism on life in America.” “Throughout history, there always have been a few people who don’t want information to be freely available. And this is still true,” said ALA President Leslie Burger. “The reason more books aren’t banned is because community residents - with librarians, teachers and journalists - stand up and speak out for their freedom to read. Banned Books Week reminds us that we must remain vigilant.” There were 546 known attempts to remove books in 2006. Challenges are defined as formal, written complaints filed with a library or school requesting that materials be removed because of content or appropriateness. About 70 percent of challenges take place in schools and school libraries. According to Judith F. Krug, director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom, the number of challenges reflects only incidents reported, and for each reported, four or five remain unreported. “We are as busy as we’ve ever been in fighting censorship attempts in schools and libraries,” Krug said. “Libraries are no longer simply about books - but also about DVDs, videogames and online information.” Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell’s award-winning “And Tango Makes Three,” about two male penguins parenting an egg from a mixed-sex penguin couple, was the most challenged book of last year, due to the issues of homosexuality. Rounding out the top five most challenged books in 2006 were: · “Gossip Girls” series by Cecily Von Ziegesar for homosexuality, sexual content, drugs, unsuited to age group, and offensive language; · “Alice” series by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor for sexual content and offensive language; · “The Earth, My Butt, and Other Big Round Things” by Carolyn Mackler for sexual content, anti-family, offensive language, and unsuited to age group; · “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison for sexual content, offensive language, and unsuited to age group; Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the ALA, the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.