Hi Guys,
This year, Banned Book Week is September 25th – October 1st. Banned Book Week is a celebration of the freedom to read. Librarians across the country highlight previously banned books in displays, stage read-ins and more. This is a week of awareness; a way for communities to come together in support of the freedom to express oneself and seek information that may be unpopular by some.
Over the years books have been banned for the use of language, violence, sexual content and more. The forest industry sought to ban Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax because it portrayed the forest industry in an ugly way. Captain Underpants, almost anything Judy Blume, the Bible, Huckleberry Finn—basically you name it and someone somewhere has tried to take it off our shelves because they disagreed with some aspect.
The First Amendment states:
CONGRESS SHALL MAKE NO LAW RESPECTING AN ESTABLISHMENT OF RELIGION, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF; OR ABRIDGING THE FREEDOM OF SPEECH, OR OF THE PRESS; OR THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE PEACEABLY TO ASSEMBLE, AND TO PETITION THE GOVERNMENT FOR A REDRESS OF GRIEVANCES.
The American Library Association fights for first amendment rights and the freedom to read. For educators and the public they provide printables, banned book lists and other resources to increase awareness of the public’s right to information.
This week I finished a bookend display for banned book week.
The classic prison photo background. This display is in our children’s room, so I figured it would be a good photo-op for parents.
We also have some books on display and a few printables for additional information.
This is a simple display but it always gets people talking. We get a lot of questions about why books are banned and people are always surprised by the books that have been banned. We also have a display upstairs in our adult section.
A pretty simple display but an important message. We all have the right to express ourselves; we have the right to seek out information and put down our ideas in writing.
Read a banned book this week!
That’s all for now!
-M-