Kevin Coolidge
“Minutes drag on like months; seconds are slivers of forever. I’ve waited so long for this book. Why do new books release on Tuesday? Why not Saturday? Or better yet Friday? I’d have the whole weekend to walk through the familiar stone halls of Mahanagh. I can’t wait any longer. I just knew there would be another exciting tale of Apathea Ravenchilde. I’ve had my name on the waiting list since number seven came out…”
It’s not easy being a bookworm. It’s harder when your best friend gets sent to military school, and now you have to face freshman year of high school alone. Neal Barton wants to be left alone so he can enjoy the latest book in his favorite fantasy series, but local activists are trying to get the town library to ban his favorite series: “The Adventures of Apathea Ravenchilde”.
In Americus, written by MK Reed and illustrated by Jonathan Hill, we find Neal struggling to establish his identity and sense of self. He’s learning to interact with girls, stand up for himself, and to do the right thing. He doesn’t want to fight for his favorite book, but sometimes it’s more important to express yourself. Sometimes it’s more than just a book….
Libraries do battle over controversial books. Sometimes, people want to ban a book based on their personal and religious beliefs. Sometimes a book simply offends them. A public library strives to provide equal access to all people of the community, and those needs are both public and private. Banned Book Week is an annual awareness campaign that celebrates the freedom to read and draws attention to banned and challenged books.
Banned Books Week was started in 1982, and is held every year during the last week of September. The freedom to access information and express ideas, even those considered unorthodox or unpopular, is the foundation for Banned Books Week. This campaign stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of viewpoints so individuals can develop their own opinions and conclusions.
Books featured during Banned Books Week have either been targets, or have actually been banned or restricted, but thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community, most of these books have been retained in library collections. Some may argue that these books were never completely censored, and would still be available for purchase in bookstores if removed from the library.
It is, however, a core belief of librarians to provide the public access to materials, to defend a person’s right to read as they choose. Imagine how many more books might be challenged if we did not practice our First Amendment rights, and the power of words by observing and participating in Banned Books Week, which draws attention to the dangers that exist when restraints are imposed on information in a free society. This September 24 to October 1st, visit your local library, choose a good book, and remember just how important a book and a library can be to the overall community.
Ban, burn, or borrow? Drop me an email at from_my_shelf@yahoo.com. Miss a past column. Did your Mom stop you? You can sneak a peek at http://frommyshelf.blogspot.com. We won’t tell…promise. Read the book that would be banned by those crazy canines. Well, if they could read. Grab “Hobo Finds A Home” a children’s story about a cat who found a friend, a home, and his very own bookshelf…
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