What does book banning mean to you?

Timeline

Poster from WWII
https://www.nh.gov/nhsl/ww2/ww02prt.html

Scene from Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/indianajones/images/b/bd/BerlinRally.jp...

based on true events:

http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005852

American Library Association

"or the freedom to express one's opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them."

"66% of the ten most frequently challenged authors from 2001 to 2010 have been YA authors. If adult authors commonly taught in schools are included, the percentage soars to 80%. This puts the issue squarely in the laps of YA and school librarians."

p 29 Intellectual Freedom for Teens: A Practical Guide for Young Adult and School Librarians edited by Fletcher-Spear and Kelly Tyler

Infographic
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/statistics/2014-books-c...


Who do you think is challenging the books you are reading?

said Judith Platt, chair of the Banned Books Week National Committee.

“These are the books that speak most immediately to young people, dealing with many of the difficult issues that arise in their own lives, or in the lives of their friends. These are the books that give young readers the ability to safely explore the sometimes scary real world.

Source:
http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/node/8805

http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/mappingcensorship

This map does not reflect current controversies such as

Henrietta Lacks non-fiction book challenged:

http://www.ew.com/article/2015/09/08/tennessee-mom-henrietta-lacks-pornogra...

"Some Girls Are" book challenged

http://www.slj.com/2015/09/censorship/charleston-public-library-hands-out-s...

http://bookriot.com/2015/09/04/rising-challenge-book-internet-delivered-boo...

Discuss display books - with a show of hands, how many have you heard of or have read?

Why do you think these YA books were challenged or banned?

These books on display is not representative of all the books challenged each year.

"Surveys indicate up to 85% of actual challenges to library materials receive no media attention and remain unreported."

Parks & Rec - mistaken gay penguin wedding

http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_luo31jnDuW1qmha4qo2_500.gif

Source: Books Challenged or Banned, 2014-2015 by Robert P. Doyle, ALA

Infographic:
http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/statistics/2014-books-c...

Read portion from the Dan Gutman article and discuss

Show My Weird School books


Sherman Alexie:
http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2011/06/09/why-the-best-kids-books-are-writt...

Is there a Librarian's Responsibility - what would that be?




Source: "Banned Books" Edited by Cynthia A. Bily, Greenhaven Press
(Dan Gutman is Viewpoint 4)

The American Library Association affirms that all libraries are forums for information and ideas, and that the following basic policies should guide their services.

1. Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.

2. Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

3. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide Information and enlightenment.

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill

HCPSS follows their Evaluation & Selection Criteria to choose what books you have access to in your school media centers

http://mrsrichmondslibrary.weebly.com/uploads/6/6/0/1/6601346/selection.pdf

Read...
&

Reaffirms its belief in the Library Bill of Rights of the ALA

& to provide materials which reflect the ideas and beliefs of religious, social, political, historical, and ethnic groups and their contribution to the American and world heritage and culture, thereby enabling students to develop an intellectual integrity in forming judgements.

So much of our information is found online now - research databases, online newspapers, etc.

Role of libraries is to provide access to information

HCLS does NOT block/filter websites BUT there is a disclaimer

What is the policy at HCPSS?

Does the policy treat electronic resources the same as print (i.e. is there a procedure to follow for granting access or denying access to online sites)

remember - schools must comply with requirements imposed by Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA)

http://knowledgequest.aasl.org/banned-web-sites-policies-date/

ALA POLICY
"The freedom to read is essential to our democracy. It is continuously under attack. Private groups and public authorities in various parts of the country are working to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in school, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries. These actions apparently rise from a view that our national tradition of free expression is no longer valid; that censorship and suppression are needed to counter threats to safety or national security, as well as to avoid the subversion of politics and the corruption of morals. We, as individuals devoted to reading and as librarians and publishers responsible for disseminating ideas, wish to assert the public interest in the preservation of the freedom to read."

http://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/statementspols/freedomreadstatement

Source: Books Challenged or Banned, 2014-2015 by Robert P. Doyle, ALA

US Supreme Court Justice WIlliam Brennan, in Texas v. Johnson said, "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the Government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because socity finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable."

"The 1st Amendment guarantees that each of us has the right to express our views, including opinions about particular books. At the same time, the 1st Amendment also ensures that none of us has the right to control or limit another person's ability to read or access information."

"Attempts to censor can lead to voluntary restriction of expression by those who seek to avoid controversy; in these cases, material may not be published at all or may not be purchased by a bookstore, library or school district."

discuss...

what role does social media play?

distance that social media can give to make disagreeable comments

online book reviews - impact on what you buy?

e-readers (surveillance and tracking)

lack of media coverage for 85% of library challenges...

Stay Informed

http://ala.org/oif
http://firstamendmentcenter.org

http://www.slj.com/resources/sljs-resources-on-banned-books-and-censorship/

Challenge Censorship

Virtual ReadOut:
https://www.youtube.com/user/BannedBooksWeek

share what you read on social media
#bannedbooksweek

What Banned Book are You? Quiz
https://www.playbuzz.com/columbusstatelibrary10/which-banned-young-adult-no...

Find out

Dav Pilkey

https://m.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtu.be&v=eA6_yp2CvlU

Support your local schools & libraries

"Manifesto"
by Ellen Hopkins

from:
"True Stories of Censorship Battles in America's Libraries" edited by Valerie Nye and Kathy Barco, ALA, 2012