What do 1984, Where the Wild Things Are, and the dictionary have in common?  They’ve all been banned in certain American schools at one time or another.

Every year in September, Banned Books Week aims to bring greater awareness to literary censorship. And this year the NASH Library is fully on board.

“Books are banned usually because someone wants to keep a group of people safe,” NASH Librarian Ms. Wienand said.  “Many people challenge books because their themes frighten them, but we don’t have the opportunity to learn [from the books] if our first reaction is to push them out.”

According to the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), “A small group of people can challenge a book to be banned due to its content.”

A common question is why some groups seek to ban books in the first place?  Although any book can be banned, it usually involves something with a heavy use of racial language, sexual content, religion, or LGBTQ+ themes.  Although these are not all of the reasons a book may be banned, these are some of the most prominent. According to the A.L.A. (American Library Association), 14% of all books are challenged by building administrators.  The rest are the result of community groups who lobby libraries and school boards to remove certain titles.

 “Most of these texts represent underrepresented people or points of view, like the LGBTQ+ community for example,” Wienand said, “The books provides us a safe way to meet someone besides people like us, and people need that interaction, but more importantly the books give some students more of an opportunity to see people like themselves, which they really need.”

One of the most important distinctions on this topic is what it means to “challenge” a book.  Challenging does not mean that a book is banned but that it is put under consideration to be banned in a particular area.  Rarely does a book get banned unanimously across the country.  Usually, banning takes place only in one location.

“I believe our freedom to read, our freedom to learn, is important,” Wienand said. “We’re limiting ourselves by banning books. Also, we have a huge library and no one’s telling you that you have to read everything here.”

Mrs. Omastis, an English teacher and naturally a book enthusiast, agreed with Wienand. “I don’t think books should be banned in general,” she said.  “I think that everyone should have the ability to read what they want.  Books that are challenged or banned are being written for a reason, but I don’t think kids should be told what and what not to read.  Ever.”

Opposition to banned books reaches outside the English Department and library. Mr. Lyons in the Social Studies Department said, “Personally, I do not think any book should be on banned reading lists, excluding age-appropriateness. The First Amendment is sacred in our country, and if we do not have that, then we have nothing.

Lyons added, “Having said that, there should always be background provided particularly with controversial books so people have a full understanding of the literature, but they should be able to form their own opinions.”

To Wienand’s knowledge, NASH has never banned a book, though several books in the English curriculum have been challenged over the years, such as To Kill a Mockingbird and Of Mice and Men.

“This is my ninth year being a librarian and I’ve never had someone formally challenge a book,” Wienand said.

Starting next month, NASH will launch a Banned Book Club with the support of Wienand and the Library Club. The group will vote on books from the list of most challenged titles of all time and read one every month. The Uproar intends to publish a monthly review of each selected text.

The attached poll below allows you to vote on the first book for Banned Book Club. Interested students can see Ms. Wienand for more information.

Additional information about Banned Books Week can be found at:

www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks

www.bannedbooksweek.org