Banned Books Week 2015 - The Quotes

Banned Books Week is not the only time we need to remember to fight against the banning or challenging of books.  The people protesting the book certainly don't wait for a certain season, and neither should book defenders!

Here are some great quotes to keep in mind all year round when fighting the good fight!

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Banned Books Week 2015 - 8 of My Favorite YA Banned Books

This year, Banned Books Week is centered around Young Adult books.  “Young Adult books are challenged more frequently than any other type of book,” said Judith Platt, chair of the Banned Books Week National Committee.  Most of the time this challenges are issued from parents who "claim" to be concerned for the students' delicate sensibilities.  YA titles were on the list of the Top Ten Most Challenged Books of 2014, according to the American Library Association. 

The problem with parents trying to dictate what should and should not be read is two-fold: first, they are not educational professional who often (I know this may not be 100% of the time) vett the book to utilize for an educational purpose, and second, they don't just attempt to stop their own child from reading the book, but all the children.  I have a major problem with both of these issues: please don't interfere with the learning process of every child in the class; while parents have a right to review what their child is being exposed to, they do not have that right for all the other children.  Let those kids parents make those determinations for themselves.  Additionally, unless you've had a frank and in-depth conversation with the educator about why the book was chosen, don't fly off the handle.  Teachers are not out to harm students, but to expand their outlook on the world, which is often reflected in the challenged material.

So below I've highlighted EIGHT of my favorite recently banned Young Adult Books!  Each is fantastic and really do have something to highlight for the reader about the real world we live in, even when set in a dystopian such as The Hunger Games or a murder-thriller such as I Hunt Killers.

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Banned Books Week 2015 - The Videos

It's that time again, the time to celebrate books, freedom, and expression!  

To celebrate those books that people try to remove from library shelves and from readers' hands.  

To celebrate the words written by authors looking to tell their/a/the story that needs to be told.  

To celebrate the ideals and experiences that reflect our real life.  

To celebrate BANNED BOOKS!

So let's set the tone with this awesome collection of Banned Book videos!

If you support reading Banned Books, then check out Banned Books Week to get more info about what you can do to help stop censorship and the banning of books (which yes, still does happen)!

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BANNED BOOKS WEEK PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS, the freedom to read is essential to our democracy, and reading is among our greatest freedoms; and

WHEREAS, privacy is essential to the exercise of that freedom, and the right to privacy is the right to open inquiry without having the subject of one's interest examined or scrutinized by others; and

WHEREAS, the freedom to read is protected by our Constitution; and

WHEREAS some individuals, groups, and public authorities work to remove or limit access to reading materials, to censor content in schools, to label "controversial" views, to distribute lists of "objectionable" books or authors, and to purge libraries of materials reflecting the diversity of society; and

WHEREAS, both governmental intimidation and the fear of censorship cause authors who seek to avoid controversy to practice self-censorship, thus limiting our access to new ideas; and

WHEREAS, every silencing of a heresy, every enforcement of an orthodoxy, diminishes the toughness and resilience of American society and leaves it less able to deal with controversy and difference; and

WHEREAS, Americans still favor free enterprise in ideas and expression, and can be trusted to exercise critical judgment, to recognize propaganda and misinformation, and to make their own decisions about what they read and believe, and to exercise the responsibilities that accompany this freedom; and

WHEREAS, intellectual freedom is essential to the preservation of a free society and a creative culture; and

WHEREAS, conformity limits the range and variety of inquiry and expression on which our democracy and our culture depend; and

WHEREAS, the American Library Association's Banned Books Week: Celebrating the Freedom to Read is observed during the last week of September each year as a reminder to Americans not to take their precious freedom for granted; and

WHEREAS, Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one's opinion even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the blog Eli to the nth celebrates the American Library Association's Banned Books Week, and be it further

RESOLVED, that the blog Eli to the nth encourages all libraries and bookstores to acquire and make available materials representative of all the people in our society; and be it further

RESOLVED, that the blog Eli to the nth encourages free people to read freely, now and forever.

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Adopted by the blog Eli to the nth
9/28/15 
Tampa, FL

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Banned Books Week: The Articles!

As a member of ALA (American Library Association) I get their newsletter.  This week's edition has, obviously, some really awesome articles in support of Banned Books Week and some crazy ones about the censorship of books.  For the last day of BBW I thought I'd share some of my favorites with you!

• Keep these ways to celebrate in mind for next year's Banned Books Week!
• Awesome Banned Books Week flashmob at Lafayette College!
• I want some of these banned books trading cards!!
• YALSA examines the next big trend in banned books!
• Corey Michael Dolton "locked himself up with Vonnegut" at the Kurt Vonnegut Memorial Library! 
• Have you checked out the 50 State Salute videos ALA has put together?
• Check out the infographic The Huffington Post created showing why 2011's banned books were "banned"!
• Students and faculty at the University of Northern Colorado celebrate Banned Books Week with a read-in!
• Finally, check out some free e-book copies of some banned books!

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