Banned Book Week

Today I'm grumpy because... I bet you thought I forgot banned book week!

As a reference librarian I don't actually get to do much for Banned Books Week (not that we do all that much to begin with anyway, but), but I try to remember it!  We have a display up, so if I see an empty space I try to grab a book to put there.  And of course I have my own mental list of banned books to recommend should anyone ask.  I get... excited when people ask for book recommendations.

Fun Fact: I'm like a rabid wolverine when it comes to reader's advisory, but instead of killing prey much bigger than myself I recommend books from genres I don't often read.  Sadly, my excitement does sometimes lead to excessive salivation.

So what is banned books week? (Asked no one.  Shh, dear reader, just listen to the librarian.)  Banned books are books that have been targeted as unfit to appear in libraries and schools.  The week - which began in the early 80s - celebrates these books, as well as freedom of ideas more generally.  ALA has more info here, as well as a list of frequently challenged books.  Most of the challenges come to school libraries and classrooms (though public libraries will have books challenged, as well) and the most common reason for a challenge is because of sexual content.  Like...  a lot of books are challenged because of sexual content.  If you're interested, here is a graphic from ALA about the top ten most challenged books from 2017.  Challenged does not mean the book was removed - it only means someone wanted the book to be removed.  (If it's actually removed, then it's a "banned" book.)

If you've never read any of these, why not pick one up!  Be a rebel - read something that somebody somewhere thought you shouldn't.  (The Hate U Give, for instance, which is being made into a movie.)   I had planned a very lengthy rant on There is a lot of talk around censorship, what constitutes censorship, and what's harmful enough to warrant some sort of action - but the week is already over, and so many other - wiser - voices have already chimed in.  There was a recent article in the Washington Post asking do we need banned books week anymore?  And I've made a lot of the same arguments as the librarian interviewed.  I mean, it's definitely about the books, but what might be useful is to shift focus from books specifically to intellectual freedom more generally.