Library Word of the Week - Censor

Next week is Banned Book Week! Every year, the American Library Association reports out on what books have been challenged or banned in libraries and schools across the country. 

Therefore, our Word of the Week is: 

censor: A censor takes out things that are objectionable 

or inappropriate, like the censors at the TV networks 

bleeping out all the bad words in a show.

*read more here*

Here is more information about the top 10 banned/challenged books of 2014: 

The ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) receives reports from libraries, schools, and the media on attempts to ban books in communities across the country. We compile lists of challenged books in order to inform the public about censorship efforts that affect libraries and schools. The top ten most frequently challenged books of 2014 include:

1)      The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie

Reasons: anti-family, cultural insensitivity, drugs/alcohol/smoking, gambling, offensive language, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group, violence. Additional reasons: “depictions of bullying”

2)      Persepolis, by Marjane Satrapi

Reasons: gambling, offensive language, political viewpoint. Additional reasons: “politically, racially, and socially offensive,” “graphic depictions”

3)      And Tango Makes Three, Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell

Reasons: Anti-family, homosexuality, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “promotes the homosexual agenda”

4)      The Bluest Eye, by Toni Morrison

Reasons: Sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “contains controversial issues”

5)      It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris

Reasons: Nudity, sex education, sexually explicit, unsuited to age group. Additional reasons: “alleges it child pornography”

6)      Saga, by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples

Reasons: Anti-Family, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group. Additional reasons:

7)      The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini

Reasons: Offensive language, unsuited to age group, violence

8)      The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky

Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, homosexuality, offensive language, sexually explicit, unsuited for age group. Additional reasons: “date rape and masturbation”

9)      A Stolen Life, Jaycee Dugard

Reasons: drugs/alcohol/smoking, offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited for age group

10)  Drama, by Raina Telgemeier

Reasons: sexually explicit

Library Word of the Week - Censorship

Censorship 

is the suppression of speech, public communication or other information which may be considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, politically incorrect or inconvenient as determined by governments, media outlets, authorities or other such entities. (Wiki)

(comic from Smells Like Library) 

“Librarians consider free access to information the foundation of democracy.” 
― Marilyn Johnson, This Book Is Overdue!: How Librarians and Cybrarians Can Save Us All

Librarians often have to fight against people (parents, politicians, etc) who feel that certain books should not be read. Recently, a Texas school district had a list of book challenges:

Here's the full list:

• The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, flagged for its strong language. Alexie's autobiographical novel won the National Book Award.

• An Abundance of Katherines by John Green, flagged for sexual situations. Green's Young Adult novels have garnered a Printz and an Edgar award.

• The Art of Racing in the Rain by Garth Stein, flagged for a scene in which a teenager incites non-consensual sex with an adult.

• The Glass Castle: A Memoir by Jeannette Walls, which describes real-life incidents of abuse and domestic violence. Walls' book, the recipient of multiple awards, is currently in production as a film starring Jennifer Lawrence.

• Siddhartha by Hermann Hesse, apparently offensive for its depiction of Buddhist philosophy and a main character who has unmarried sex, including with prostitutes. Hesse won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1946.

• Song of Solomon, by Toni Morrison, which features sexual imagery and a narrative involving incest. Morrison has won both the Pulitzer and the Nobel Prize for her fiction.

• The Working Poor: Invisible in America by David K. Shipler, which came under fire for its true account of a woman who was raped in second grade and who later had an abortion as a teenager. Shipler was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting, and won a Pulitzer for General Nonfiction. The book was being taught as part of an Advanced Placement English course.

Censorship, in the form of banning and challenging books, isn't just something that happened a long time ago. It is happening every year in schools and public libraries across the country and globe.

Come on down to your library and see what books we have available for check out that other schools and libraries have banned.