Library Corner: Celebrate Banned Books Week with EALD

“The freedom to read is essential to our democracy.” So begins the Freedom to Read Statement adopted by the American Library Association in 1953, and which libraries across the nation continue to uphold today.

At no better time are we reminded of the repercussions of censorship than during Banned Books Week which this year is September 22-28. Started in the 1980s, Banned Books Week is an annual event that celebrates our right to read, highlights the value of free and open access to information—even those ideas some consider unorthodox or unpopular --and draws national attention to the harms of suppression and censorship. The theme this year is “Censorship Keeps Us in the Dark.”

While books have been and continue to be challenged across the country, Banned Books Week also celebrates that many banned books continue to be available and popular. Who hasn’t read The Great Gatsby (challenged in 1987 because of language and sexual references), The Catcher in the Rye (removed by a school in 2001 because it’s a “filthy, filthy book”) or Of Mice and Men (described by a parent in 2007 as a “worthless, profanity-riddled book”)? Librarians don’t always agree with the sentiment of every book we add to the collection, but we believe that everyone should have the right to read what they want to read.

It isn’t only access to physical books that librarians are fighting for on behalf of their readers. Despite research indicating that library use typically leads to improved retail book sales, publishers are increasingly viewing libraries as competitors instead of collaborators in recent years. As a result, they have started placing embargos on libraries to limit their access to eBooks and downloadable audiobooks and regularly charge libraries up to four times more for an eBook copy than a retail customer would pay.

We’re seeing the effects of this on our own eBook collection (https://anytime.overdrive.com/) where a recent embargo by MacMillan Publishers means we won’t be able to add extra copies of popular eBooks like Delia Owens’ Where the Crawdads Sing for months. As pressure from publishers continues, the American Library Association has decided to fight back with the #eBooksForAllCampaign. If you use our Anytime Library to read eBooks and discover new authors, please consider joining the campaign and adding your name to the petition: https://p2a.co/fgcQkzV.

Libraries don’t just believe in the right to read, we also uphold the freedom to view, speak and hear. According to the American Library Association’s Freedom to View Statement, “In a free society, there is no place for censorship of any medium or expression.” That’s why we make our meeting room space available to other organizations, check out DVDs with a diversity of views and expressions, and provide library programs about topics that might be controversial.

Earlier this summer we held a book discussion for adults with a guest who is openly transgender but whose unique viewpoint added depth to the book being discussed. Last month we invited an immunization outreach coordinator from Within Reach to speak about factual data showing the importance of vaccinations for our community. These are hot button topics, to be sure, but for every person who is offended by a topic another person will see it as an opportunity to increase their knowledge and understanding.

As the Freedom to Read Statement concludes, “Ideas can be dangerous; but the suppression of ideas is fatal to a democratic society. Freedom itself is a dangerous way of life, but it is ours.” We hope you’ll join us in celebrating Banned Books Week by reading, watching or listening to something “dangerous.”