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Banned Books Continued...
in a conservative area of the southern United States,
and guess what; my local library system also has 0
copies of Johnny the Walrus. Yes, that is anecdotal evidence,
so take it for its worth.
Librarians (and especially directors and school
boards) have supreme power over what is in the library
collection, so if they don’t want certain types of books
in the collection, they won’t be in the collection. Just
this week, a school district in Canada removed all
books that were published before 2008 from its school
library, under the guise of equity and inclusion. (Brockbank,
King, 2023) When a patron comes into the library
and makes a book request, some librarians will happily
take the request even if they know the book is not
going to be ordered (patrons will eventually forget
about it or get tired of asking). Other librarians may
offer excuses about budget cuts in order to pacify an
eager patron. Trust me, this happens all the time.
Simply put, if they don’t want the book, you aren’t getting
the book.
In short, fiber friends, as October nears and everyone
starts to share pictures of their WIPs emblazoned
with the “I Read Banned Books” tagline, I encourage
you to think more critically about whether the American
Library Association is an organization you want to draw
attention to and/or support. Personally, I will choose to
just read dangerously and knit something spooky.
Afterword:
Author, William Powell, spent 40 years after the publication
of The Anarchist Cookbook disavowing the
book and trying to get it removed from print. (Dokoupil,
2013) However, The Anarchist Cookbook is still in print,
still in many libraries, and did not make the list of 50
Most Banned Books in 2022.
Citations:
American Library Association. (2023, August 25). Top 13 most challenged books of 2022. Advocacy, Legislation & Issues.
https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10
American Library Association. (n.d.). About the American Library Association. About ALA. https://www.ala.org/aboutala/
American Library Association: Office of Intellectual Freedom. (n.d.). Banned Books Week. Banned books week. https://bannedbooksweek.org/about/
American Library Association. (2023, February 24). challenge reporting. American Library Association.
http://www.ala.org/tools/challengesupport/report (Accessed September 14, 2023)
American Library Association (2023, Junes 22). american library association to distribute $1 million to support fight against censorship.
American Library Association. (Accessed September 14, 2023)
http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2023/06/american-library-association-distribute-1-million-support-fight-against
American Library Association. (2023, March 20). 2022 book ban data. American Library Association.
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/book-ban-data (Accessed September 14, 2023)
Andrew, S. (2021, March 3). Libraries oppose censorship. so they’re getting creative when it comes to offensive kids’ books. CNN.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/03/us/offensive-childrens-books-librarians-wellness-trnd/index.html
Brockbank, N., & King, A. (2023, September 13). “EmPty Shelves with absolutely no books”:
Students, Parents Question School Board’s library weeding process | CBC NewsNi. CBCnews.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/peel-school-board-library-book-weeding-1.6964332
Dokoupil, T. (2013, December 17). After latest shooting, Murder Manual author calls for book to be taken “immediately” out of print. NBCNews.com.
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/after-latest-shooting-murder-manual-author-calls-book-be-taken-flna2d11758543
Frick, K. (2020, June 15). The problem with Peter Pan: Racism in the classics. ALSC Blog.
https://www.alsc.ala.org/blog/2020/06/problem-with-classic-literature/
Kennedy, D. (2022, September 10). Librarians go radical as new woke policies take over: Experts. New York Post.
https://nypost.com/2022/09/10/librarians-go-radical-as-new-woke-policies-take-over-experts/
Martin, J. (2022, November 17). The 50 most banned books in America. CBS News.
https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/the-50-most-banned-books-in-america/51/
Migdon, B. (2021, December 9). Amazon bestseller compares being trans to pretending to be a walrus. The Hill.
https://thehill.com/changing-america/respect/diversity-inclusion/585135-amazon-bestseller-compares-being-trans-to/
Villagomez, J. (2021, March 8). Chicago Public Library removing 6 dr. Seuss books from the shelves while it determines long-term options.
Chicago Tribune.
https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/breaking/ct-dr-seuss-chicago-public-library-20210308-gibelvfs7fhrbpwlbitxdyalbm-story.html
Waters, C. (2019, November 13). “woke” librarians take their politics to another level. The American Conservative.
https://www.theamericanconservative.com/woke-librarians-take-their-politics-to-another-level/
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