Everyone’s heard of them: whether because they have a naughty word, a provocative theme or “adult” actions, book banning isn’t new. Banning texts dates back to the dawns of religions and beyond. But why are books being banned, and should they be?
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom is charged with upholding “the concept of intellectual freedom as embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association’s basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials,” according to their website. The office argues that censoring material, as is done with banned books, is harmful, and that there are many benefits to unrestricted reading. They also compile a list of banned books as according to reports from the media. Some of the top banned books as of 2017 include: “Thirteen Reasons Why,” “To Kill a Mockingbird” and “The Hate U Give,” among others.
The ALA OIF also offers support for activists who are looking to overturn rules set in place by libraries and schools. Students, educators or professionals can submit confidential information about materials they know to be banned and the ALA OIF helps determine if anything can be done about the situation.
Many, specifically parents, argue that they should have reign over what their children are reading and exposed to. They claim that they would rather introduce controversial or difficult to understand topics to their children as they see fit, rather than allowing them to read about it and potentially misunderstand it. On the other hand, those who are against banning-books view this as an attempt to censor and control all children. Taking them out of libraries because one parent doesn’t agree with the messages and themes due to religious beliefs (or for any other reason) inherently asks all others to uphold similar beliefs. However, according to Pro Con, a study done by Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council revealed that “banning” books doesn’t necessarily stop people from getting them elsewhere, and it certainly doesn’t prevent authors from continuing to write them.
Whether you’re for or against banning books, most of us can agree: books are a gateway to higher education and intellect. Either way, getting children (and adults) into reading is beneficial, as long as whatever content we’re taking in is not misleading, blatantly and meaninglessly disrespectful of others and leads to higher thinking and processing of information.
- “Thirteen Reasons Why” written by Jay Asher
- “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” written by Sherman Alexie
- “Drama” written and illustrated by Raina Telgemeier
- “The Kite Runner” written by Khaled Hosseini
- “George” written by Alex Gino
- “Sex is a Funny Word” written by Cory Silverberg and illustrated by Fiona Smyth
- “To Kill a Mockingbird” written by Harper Lee
- “The Hate U Give” written by Angie Thomas
- “And Tango Makes Three” written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole
- “I Am Jazz” written by Jessica Herthel and Jazz Jennings and illustrated by Shelagh McNicholas
For information about why these books were banned by some, or to read about previous year’s top ten lists, visit www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10.
