Monday, September 23, 2002

It's Banned Books Week. As a librarian-in-training, I have to be aware of these things. Being the conservative that I am, I have mixed feelings about the week. On the one hand, I think that censorship is bad. Of course I do. Who is in favor of banning books? On the other hand, the list of books on the ALA's website is not one of books that have actually been banned, but of those whose inclusion in libraries has been challenged. Most of these challenges occur in school libraries where, it would seem to me, collection development policies should take into consideration appropriateness for the age group they serve. How many middle school libraries contain KKK propaganda? While I do not know the answer to this, I suspect the number is very small. Why? Because KKK propaganda is deemed by almost everyone to be improper material for a middle school library. This is not censorship, it is selection. Books such as Catcher in the Rye are much more difficult. Some people think they are appropriate while others do not. Those who do not think so challenge them. They usually do not succeed. This is not really censorship, either. People have a right to complain, particularly if the process of selection is to be democratic. 10:11:34 PM    comment []

the air is humming, and something great is coming... 7:34:02 PM    comment []