Banned Books Week: What Does It Mean?

 In the United States, this week is "Banned Books Week," as established by the American Library Association (ALA). What does this mean?

First, this is a public outcry, led by librarians, against censorship of books. As someone who had family members lose their native country due to a group that was very much into censorship and the literal burning of entire libraries of books, I dislike censorship. It is not my, nor any governing board's, place to tell the rest of the world what to read or what cannot be read.

Secondly, the ALA's annual list of  most banned books is misleading. Having attended seminars and meetings led by ALA and AASL (American Association of School Librarians) employees, I learned some surprising truths about the ALA's Banned Books List. (Also called the Most Challenged Books, which is more accurate but not completely honest of a title either.) A challenged book is one where somebody does not feel it is appropriate for a library. When a parent, teacher, student, or community member approaches a school librarian (or public librarian) in the US, that librarian can report the information to the ALA. Not all challenged books are reported, which makes the list inaccurate. However, the rankings of books on the list is not done by statistical analysis of the reported books. Instead, the ALA determines which books they anticipate have been challenged, based on content, subject matter, profane language, etc. and not reported, or the books they think people wanted to challenge but did not. That's right. They make up the rankings based on their opinions of something that may or may not have happened. 

Third, these books are not getting burned. They are not being wiped from the memory of American school children. They are not made illegal to own, purchase, read, or share. They are not being banned. They are being challenged for many reasons, some valid and others not necessarily valid. What do I mean?

Books can be challenged because they were purchased and made available for checkout to the wrong age level. A Young Adult (YA) book is not age-appropriate for an elementary school. This could be the strong language, the situations characters find themselves in, or themes that are emotionally too advanced for a child who can read the book but not process it emotionally. Often, these books are sent to the next level of school, where it is more appropriate. Is this wrong? Should a 7 or 8 year-old be reading books written and intended for 17-20 year-olds? Is this really censorship? Or is it simply ensuring an age-appropriate collection of books that do not present information and scenarios a young mind is incapable of processing and understanding? 

Some books are challenged because the book violates the moral values of a parent or family. Therefore, they feel no child should access the book. This is censorship to an extreme: "I don't like it so no one can read it." This is the time where the parent should talk with their child, "I don't think this book is appropriate for you at this time because..." In other words, this should be a family discussion. But one family should not dictate to all families. An example of this is a compilation of scary stories in an elementary library. One child checked it out and proceeded to have nightmares. (It was an age-appropriate book, but this child had a very active imagination.) The parent wanted to deny access for all students to what was a very popular book. 

Some books are challenged because of what is called "community standards." The whole of the community believes a certain thing, or they have certain values they teach and uphold. Not all members of the community, however, might agree with what the majority has established. As a result, books that offend the majority (or the group in charge) get challenged. This happens most often with fantasy books involving witchcraft and magic and books with LGBTQ+ characters.

When a book is challenged, it can be handled in different ways. Often there is a process to determine if the book should be removed from a collection, put in an area of the library accessible to certain age groups or for parent permission, or to be kept available for all. The ALA's Banned Book list does not base itself on the books actually removed from shelves. Just those which have been challenged or they thing might be challenged.

Have I ever been through challenges? Yes. I have had books challenged, which is the right of any patron of the library. As the librarian, I then followed a procedure to address the patron's concerns about the book, and work with a committee to examine the complaint and the pros/cons of having the book in the collection.

What books? Here are some highlights:

The Bone Collection, a series of graphic novels, due to a character holding a mug of what appeared to be beer and smoking a cigar in ONE picture of ONE volume of the series. (Kept in collection, that family decided to have family discussion about the series.)

A Bridge to Terabithia. The parent did not know a character (spoiler alert!) dies. The child reading the book was inconsolable because of this. The book did remain on the shelf, and the child spent time with the well-being team/counselor at the school.

Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. This is the book that gave a child nightmares. He was a sensitive child with a vivid imagination. His family decided to encourage him NOT to read a scary book just because his classmates were reading it. It remained on the shelf.

Walter Dean Myers book, Monster,  was in an elementary/Junior school library even though the author categorizes it as Young Adult. (It was moved to a more appropriate school library.)

A picture book about an adopted child. The parent was worried their child would think her mom and dad would give her away. (After discussions with the parent, the book remained in the collection.)

A Brave New World, by Adolphus Huxley. Challenged because the parent of a 12th grader/Y13 student felt it promoted drugs and promiscuity. This went through the entire challenge process, and was read and discussed by the Media and Technology Advisory Committee. It was kept in the library and in the English curriculum for senior (Year 13) students.

As you can see, challenged does not mean banned. Nor does it mean book-burning censorship. I speak only of my own knowledge and experiences, not those of other librarians.

That being said, I encourage you to read.

Just choose a book.

Any book you enjoy and understand.