The last week in September is a time when libraries observe “Banned Books Week,” which is really a celebration of our freedom to read the books we choose, free of censorship. We take many of our freedoms for granted, so this is a time to create awareness that even here in the United States, where free speech is a protected first amendment right, library material is challenged regularly.

What does it mean to challenge a book or service? A challenge occurs when a person or group is offended and requests the removal of, or the restriction of access to, an item or a service/program at the library. According to the American Library Association’s (ALA) website, the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom tracked 377 challenges to library, school, and university materials and services in 2019. These are just the challenges that were voluntarily reported or spotlighted in the media, so it is likely that this count is understated.

Each year, these challenges are tracked and a top ten list is generated. The majority of the books on ALA’s Top 10 Most Challenged list for 2019 were youth or young adult titles challenged for LGBTQ+ content, potentially taking away positive and encouraging depictions of LGBTQ+ characters in literature. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood also made the list for vulgarity and sexual overtones, and the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling continues to make the top 10 for promoting witchcraft and for the dark subject matter.

As a public library, we are committed to bringing diversity to our community via the development of our collection. We don’t allow our personal opinions to affect what we purchase for the library, because our role is to facilitate freedom of access to information. Libraries are strong advocates of intellectual freedom, defined by ALA as: “the right of every individual to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction. It provides for free access to all expressions of ideas through which any and all sides of a question, cause, or movement may be explored. Intellectual freedom encompasses the freedom to hold, receive, and disseminate ideas.”

A public library is a wonderful place where everyone is welcome, and I believe most, if not all, books also have a place in a public library. Each library patron has the right to choose what they read.
https://www.theintelligencer.com/insider/article/Community-Spotlight-Celebrate-the-freedom-to-15615616.php
www.theintelligencer.com
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