By Traci Glass, Library Director
Happy Banned Books Week! That seems like a counterinitiative statement, right? Celebrating that we have banned books? Well, starting today, and running through Saturday, libraries across the world will celebrate Banned Books Week with displays, programming, and information sharing to increase awareness in their communities. It’s not so much that we are celebrating banned books – banning books is something that causes great sadness and distress in libraries – but, more the joyful celebration of our freedom to read and a reminder to our patrons of the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week is celebrated not only by libraries and library staff, but also publishers, bookstores, teachers, and readers in a collaborative and cooperative effort to say that we support freedom of speech and expression.
When Banned Books Week was first started in 1982, it was in response to an increased number of challenges happening in libraries and schools. Today, we face a similar challenge in that books, especially those that showcase the lives of those in the LGBTQ+ community, are more frequently being targeted and removed from schools and libraries. The power of being seen in books is something that makes us, as humans, feel seen and respected. The power of knowing you aren’t alone in your feelings or experience can help us to keep going, to keep trying, to keep persisting. The power of seeing others and their lives in a new way can only make us more empathetic, more understanding, and more supportive of our neighbors. All of these powers come from exposure to a diversity of books, movies, music, and more and all of these materials are offered up, without judgement or reservation, in our libraries.
I encourage you to lean into the curiosity around challenged and banned books and visit us here at the library to discover all that’s great about free expression and diversity of thought. We are excited to celebrate our freedom to read with you, and we hope you will find your next new favorite read, watch or listen with us not only this week, but every other week of the year. My favorite banned book is The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath. It was banned by an Indiana School board with that decision being upheld by a Federal Court of Appeals in 1977 for its overt rejection of the idea that a woman’s only role is being that of a wife and mother. What’s yours?
P.S. Do you like the Banned Camp patch sticker you see in this blog post? You can visit any service desk at the library and tell a library worker "I read Banned Books" to get your own! Available while supplies last.
View our compiled lists of banned and challenged books below, and be sure to stop in to the library to see our celebration around the building.