It's not surprising that this event is important to me as a future librarian. This fact isn't surprising at all. Especially as a Youth librarian this isn't surprising. However, for me banned books week goes even further than just me being an MLS student.
When I was younger, Banned Books week didn't mean a lot to me. I just didn't pay as much attention to it. It was more when I started working at my hometown library that it really became important to me. Also when a certain event took place in my hometown.
In high school and first couple years of college, my hometown would celebrate Banned Books week by holding events. The college library, Townsend library at NMSU-A, and the Public Library, Alamogordo Public Library, joined together this week to put on events. The college holds a Read Out on the courtyard patio area. Other events included movies and discussion groups based on banned/challenged books. Lately, a costume contest has been part of it.
I tried to participate in the events as much as possible. I did the Read Out one year, reading the intro passage from The Witches by Roald Dahl. It was actually during this same year that my picture was on the front page of the local newspaper for Banned Books week. I was visiting the Townsend library one day after classes (or between I don't really remember)when I stumbled across their Banned Books display. I was just looking at the different books along with another girl (I didn't know her) when a newspaper photographer asked to take our picture with the display. I picked up a Harry Potter book(It was Goblet of Fire) and the girl picked up another book. The next day a bold faced caption for the picture read "Harry Potter is my friend" right on the front page.Followed by an article talking about Banned Book week.
Back in 2001 around the time the first Harry Potter movie was set to be released, one of the local churches decided to have a book burning. It wasn't actually just books but board games and CDs as well. This burning was supposed to be a cleansing ritual for church members for such items they considered to keep them from God and that they consider Satanic. This burning included copies of Harry Potter as well as Shakespeare and Tolkien. Yet it was the Harry Potter novels that got the most attention.. It was this event that got my hometown into the national news. People protested the event and donated money to the library so they could purchase more copies of the types of books that were being burnt. The display that had been set up for the movie release was kept up during this time. In other words, there was an abundance of support in defense of the books and the right to read. Some of the protesters present at the burning supposedly had signs comparing the Pastor to Hitler and the fact that he burned books too.
It was this event that made Banned Book week even more important to me. This event showed me that there are still ignorant people in the world. Of course what they did, they felt was right but it really wasn't. It's ignorance. It's ignorant people that make me want to defend a book. I believe that books have the right to be read. If you want to ban or challenge certain books, that's your problem. YOU should be the one to parent your own kid but it's not for you to decide what other children should and shouldn't read.
When I find out a book has been banned or challenged, I actually want to go and get the book just so I can read it and see what the fuss is about. I don't understand a lot of the reasons for the challenges. Then again I'm an open minded type of person. Or at least I try to be.
This is why Banned books week really is important to me.
Celebrate your freedom to read this week!
No comments:
Post a Comment