FSU Library Sheds Light on Banned Book Week
posted by Joshua Dungee | October 9, 2020 | In Arts and Culture, NewsBanned books week is annual event used to help celebrate the freedom to read, although many people have no idea what is or they may have heard of it but do not necessarily know what it is about.
Every year, during the last week of September, people participate in reading books that have been challenged in hopes to be censored or removed from public schools and libraries. Over the years Banned Books Week has become misinterpreted, leaving most people to believe that it is a week where people shed light on books that have been banned and are no longer available within schools and libraries.
Fayetteville State University’s access services librarian, Velappan Velappan says he feels Banned Books Week should get more attention than it is currently receiving so he has made a page on the university library website to give the week more recognition.
“I just started working on a “LibGuide” (https://libguides.uncfsu.edu/) as a name, “Banned Books Week Library Guide” for our Chesnutt Library to promote the Banned Books Week,” said Mr. Velappan.
According to the Bill of Rights Institute, in 1982 the Island Trees School District v. Pico Supreme Court case ruled that school officials cannot ban books in libraries only because of their content. However, to this day, there are still a plethora of books being challenged every single year.
Because freedom of speech is part of the U.S. Constitution, Banned Books Week is “to a large degree uniquely American,” said Mr, Velappan. He states that many other countries fight censorship.
“On the broad international level there is the Committee on Freedom of Access to Information and Freedom of Expression (FAIFE), a committee of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA),” said Mr. Velappan. “Canada has Freedom to Read Week, and the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) lead intellectual freedom initiatives in the United Kingdom.”
The Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) is a part of the American Library Association (ALA) and together they compose an annual list of the 10 most challenged books of the previous year. The list from 2019 consists of many famous books such as George by Alex Gino, which is a children’s novel about a transgender girl, The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood, which is a dystopian novel about a future where women are enslaved for their child-bearing ability, and Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling. ALA states that eight of the 10 most challenged books of 2019 were challenged or banned because of LGBTQIA+ content.
Banned Books Week began on Sept. 27 this year and due to COVID-19, OIF has had a week full of virtual events for people to participate. The week started off with the reveal of the Top 10 Most Challenged Books along with a list of Top 100 Most Banned and Challenged Books of the decade. There were also be webinars throughout the week as it concluded with a question and answer with film director Cody Meirick, the director of the Scary Stories movie.
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