Banned Books Week

Banned Books Week: Finding Freedom to Read

Banned Books Week is almost upon us, and Tyler Libraries are gearing up to celebrate some of our favorite banned books: the ones people try to say are verboten and request that libraries remove from their collections. It may seem strange and unusual, but the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media all the time regarding attempts to challenge or ban books in communities across the country. Many different groups try to challenge or ban books, but according to the ALA, parents challenge books…continue reading →

Banned Books Week – Celebrate Intellectual Freedom September 22-28

Even though the ability to express our thoughts is a fiercely protected right in America, censorship still exists. Censorship is the attempt to remove certain content from public places because it is upsetting in some way. The top five ways that books were censored in 2018 included (in no order): Vandalizing pages Hiding resources Burning books Requiring parental permission to access content Removing materials While this may seem like a problem of the past, just last month (August 2019) there was another story about an attempt to censor materials. The oft-challenged “Harry Potter” series was once again removed from a…continue reading →

Banned Books Week – Day 2

“There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them.” ― Joseph Brodsky   Some of the most celebrated authors and novels have been challenged in libraries across the country. On the 2017 list of most challenged books were masterpieces like To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini. Other classic literature titles are frequently challenged in some libraries: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, 1984 by George Orwell, and The Catcher in the Rye by J. D. Salinger. Other writers faced opposition…continue reading →

Banned Books Week

Because reading is among our greatest freedoms and is essential to our democracy Because the freedom to read is protected by our Constitution and privacy is essential to that freedom, without having our interest scrutinized by others Because we can be trusted to exercise critical judgment, to recognize propaganda and misinformation, to make our own decisions about what we read and believe, and to exercise the responsibility that comes with that freedom Because each year, the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose our reading material even if the…continue reading →