What is on banned book lists is a big surprise to some
Banned Book Week has rolled around again, reminding readers that their freedom to read is always under attack. The list of what is banned can be amusing or appalling, depending on one’s point of view.
This year’s theme is “Open Books for Open Minds.” The official poster shows rows of soupcans – each bearing the name of a book banned in the United States. – with the heading: ‘Some things just shouldn’t be canned.’
During the week of Sept. 20-27, both the Morgan Hill Library, helped by the Friends of the Library, and the BookSmart bookstore have displays of books that are, or have been, under fire for content that ruffles some feathers. They also display books that were banned during 2002. All are available for check out or purchase.
Also on display is the First Amendment, those few constitutional words that form the basis for the freedom to express whatever – and why patrons are free to purchase or check the books out. To celebrate this heady week of freedom, until the end of September library patrons can enter a drawing to win a $50 gift certificate to BookSmart by filling out a short form at the library.
The drawing, sponsored by the Friends of the Morgan Hill Library, is going gangbusters, according to reports, and the library display has proved popular.
“We have a jar full of applications already,” said Librarian Jeff Grubb. “And the books are flying off the display. We have to restock them frequently and, of course, people are very surprised at some of the books,” he said pointing to Harry Potter and The Bible.
Here are some favorites and the reasons they made the list:
The Bible, of course, is full of sexy tales, violence and wickedness. The Bridge from Terabithia by Katherine Paterson was banned because it dealt with teen death; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, for offensive, racist language; Where Did I Come From by Peter Mayle, for being too vivid about reproduction and Harry Potter for making witchcraft and wizardry attractive and interesting, though its author J.K. Rowling is quite clear about the difference between good and evil.
Heather Has Two Mommies by Leslea Newman and Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite push the comfortable boundaries of some adults because they deal with gay families. The Goosebumps series by R.L. Stine is too scary for the recommended age group and Forever by Judy Blume involves at mid-teenage girl thinking about having sex. Captain Underpants by Dav Pilkey is fairly new to the chosen list but the title alone was sure to attract a wary eye to the book. Someone objected.
The Anarchist Cookbook by William Powell might be considered natural for censorship and, indeed, it has caused booksellers a few moments of worry since the book describes in living detail how to build bombs and other toys of the unsteady. Most bookstores will order it for customers; some keep it on the shelves. They have that choice.
A reason to forbear censorship, using Communist publications as an example, was described to Dartmouth College graduates by then President Dwight David Eisenhower in 1953. The former general was giving the commencement address at the height of the Cold War when fear of Communists under the bed was widespread. Eisenhower said:
“How will we defeat communism unless we know what it is, what it teaches, and why does it have such an appeal for men, why are so many people swearing allegiance to it?
“And we have got to fight it with something better, not try to conceal the thinking of our own people. They are part of America. And even if they think ideas that are contrary to ours, their right to say them, their right to record them, and their right to have them at places where they’re accessible to others is unquestioned, or it’s not America.”
Eisenhower’s premise is still alive and well in today’s libraries and bookstores.
“Banned Book Week celebrates the most important of our freedoms,” said Cinda Meister, owner of BookSmart. “In this era of the government wanting bookstores and libraries to turn over reader records, it is critical that the right to read is protected. People should be their own personal censors.”
In 2002, the most frequently challenged authors were J.K. Rowling, Judy Blume, Robert Cormier, Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, Stephen King, Lois Duncan, S.E. Hinton, Alvin Schwartz, Maya Angelou, Roald Dahl and Toni Morrison.
The purpose of Banned Books Week is to draw attention to the continuing and widespread attempts to censor books and other materials. Banned Books Week is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression, the American Library Association (ALA), the Association of American Publishers, the American Society of Journalists and Authors and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Library of Congress Center for the Book.
More information about Banned Books Week, including a BBW Press Kit can be found on the American Library Association website at http://www.ala.org/bbooks.
Morgan Hill Library, 17575 Peak Ave. at West Main Avenue, 779-3196; BookSmart, 17415 Monterey Road at West Second Street, www.mybooksmart.com or 778-6467.
