It's "Banned Books week" - American Library Association

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ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bannedbooksweek.htm

“Books and ideas are the most effective weapons
against intolerance and ignorance.”—Lyndon Baines Johnson

The 100 top challenged books of 1990-2000
** ala.org/ala/oif/bannedbooksweek/bbwlinks/100mostfrequently.htm**

  1. *]Scary Stories (Series) by Alvin Schwartz
    *]Daddy’s Roommate by Michael Willhoite
    *]I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
    *]The Chocolate War by Robert Cormier
    *]The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
    *]Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
    *]Harry Potter (Series) by J.K. Rowling
    *]Forever by Judy Blume
    *]Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson
    *]Alice (Series) by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

    I know some of these books are on here for a reason, but some… I was shocked… “Huckleberry Finn”??

    As a parent, I always know what my dd is reading, and if it is something with some objectional material- we discuss it, and use it as a teaching tool. But to completely ban titles seems a little extreme to me.

    Next, someone will want to ban the bible…

    :eek:
 
Oh but the Bible has been banned from many a public school library already, sad to say.

Huckleberry Finn is on the list because there are some people who don’t like the way Twain portrayed blacks in it and because some of the white people in the book refer to blacks as the “n” word.

I too think it narrow-minded PCism gone amok, but that’s kind of society we’ve come to with the recent court decisions giving everyone rights except the majority.
 
The Chocolate War? That’s one of the best novels I’ve ever read. It’s classified as “young adult fiction” – i.e., targeted for 12-year-olds, and it is set in a Catholic boys’ school, where the “war” is over which team will sell the most chocolate bars for the annual fundraiser. It’s a small-town high school edition of The Lord of the Flies. Brilliant. OK, maybe it was challenged because it is set in a Catholic school?
 
mercygate said:
The Chocolate War? That’s one of the best novels I’ve ever read. It’s classified as “young adult fiction” – i.e., targeted for 12-year-olds, and it is set in a Catholic boys’ school, where the “war” is over which team will sell the most chocolate bars for the annual fundraiser. It’s a small-town high school edition of The Lord of the Flies. Brilliant. OK, maybe it was challenged because it is set in a Catholic school?
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Read this over the summer, I’d imagine it is for some of the language and there were some sexual references - for my money, Lord of the Flies was the better book…
 
The longer list in the link is pretty interesting, too…I mean, there are some that I can understand the thought processes behind it, but some of the books…
Of course, on the other hand, some genuinely offensive titles have replaced some classics, which I guess…I don’t know…Is it progress when the classics mostly fall off the list because there are so many http://bestsmileys.com/sick/7.gif http://bestsmileys.com/puking/4.gifbooks being written that they push them down to the bottom???
And isn’t there something wrong in a world that puts Huckleberry Finn & To Kill a Mockingbird higher on the list of banned books than the Roquelaire “Sleeping Beauty” books, which the author cheerfully calls pornography??? (No, I have not read them, and I’m not going to! When someone says her books are porno, I am *more *than willing to take her word on it…).
 
You know, I’m not in favor of “banning books” or anything like that, but you’ll note that every year when this list comes out, the number one banned book of all time is always left off of the list. That book: The Bible.
 
the problem is that ALA and myself don’t define banned books the same way, LOL (I’m a librarian so I’ve thought about this a lot) I think their point is a good one, but to me, the idea of banning books is a lot more serious - as in GOVERNMENTS doing the banning, rather than school districts reacting to irate parents… Governments banning the Bible (or any books they disagree with) is on a totally different scale than what ALA is actually talking about. (but then ALA rarely makes sense to me, so I’ve given up trying to understand them)
 
Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) is asked why the week is called “Banned Books Week” instead of “Challenged Books Week,” since the majority of the books featured during the week are not banned, but “merely” challenged. There are two reasons. One, ALA does not “own” the name Banned Books Week, but is just one of several cosponsors of BBW; therefore, ALA cannot change the name without all the cosponsors agreeing to a change. Two, none want to do so, primarily because a challenge is an attempt to ban or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A successful challenge would result in materials being banned or restricted.
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In other words, the name, “Banned Books Week” is a lie. The books they bemoan have not been banned, but merely not purchased and placed where they think they should be placed.

Librarians, like many other public servants, frequently forget who they work for. Any entity that pays to run a library through taxes (school or public) has the right not to be forced into purchasing materials deemed objectionable by those paying the bills(taxpayers).

I am a frequent library customer, but I would rather not have one at all than have one unresponsive to the citizens it serves.
 
Some of the displays which I have seen over the years for Banned Books Week, especially by librarians who really get into it, seem a little self serving in the apparent outrage of the greater than thou people who put the effort together. Thus, it ironically backfired on them and makes the people who are trying to engage in what ought to be a noble endeavor look like the kooks.
 
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pnewton:
In other words, the name, “Banned Books Week” is a lie. The books they bemoan have not been banned, but merely not purchased and placed where they think they should be placed.
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To some extent - though a lot of the books do get pulled off school bookshelves because of irrate parents - so they were bought and then taken off the shelves - but the point is the same…
 
AmISearching?:
the problem is that ALA and myself don’t define banned books the same way, LOL (I’m a librarian so I’ve thought about this a lot) I think their point is a good one, but to me, the idea of banning books is a lot more serious - as in GOVERNMENTS doing the banning, rather than school districts reacting to irate parents… Governments banning the Bible (or any books they disagree with) is on a totally different scale than what ALA is actually talking about. (but then ALA rarely makes sense to me, so I’ve given up trying to understand them)
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I completely agree with you here. And bless you for being a librarian. I have always looked up to people in your profession- the “keepers of our knowledge” so to speak.

My point is, that this list covers a ten year period, and lists some of the most frequently (locally) challenged books- books that would probably endure heavy scrutiny and debate if not outright banning, if the US DID decide to step in and regulate on a national level- rather than a local level.

I consider myself a very conservative thinker. But if I had to choose and area where I find myself at odds with fellow ‘conservatives’- it would be in this area, books, television shows, movies, etc. I find myself taking a stance of “Turn off the TV, close the book, and do not pay the money to see that movie- If you don’t agree with it. We do not need congress speaking on our behalf regarding this.”

Because this stuff is out there- I need to instruct my children accordingly. Just as I instruct her on the prudence of interacting with strangers- and being careful on the internet. There will always be a Michael Moore, and a Mark Twain, and a Bill Maher- and people who don’t agree with them. And because we’ve endured thread after thread of people who seem to be willing to ban Harry Potter and many other books from public places, I thought this might be an interesting topic for discussion.

Again, do not misunderstand me. There are books on this list that even I wouldn’t read- forget letting my daughter read them, but others are seem so harmless it’s hard to see what the fuss is about.

I will stand on my soapbox forever, defending the right for people to speak their mind. But in tandem with that- I reserve the right to turn off the TV, or not read it, and go home when I do not agree with the subject matter.
 
for the record I don’t believe the ALA is advocating book banning, but is reporting on which books are most often challenged by the taxpaying public when they are purchased using taxpayer money for circulation in public libraries. Since the ALA is the lobbying organization that has deemed that the free speech provision of the bill of rights protects pornographic websites from being blocked on library computers, even those used by children, their opinion should be weighted accordingly.
 
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pnewton:
In other words, the name, “Banned Books Week” is a lie. The books they bemoan have not been banned, but merely not purchased and placed where they think they should be placed.

Librarians, like many other public servants, frequently forget who they work for. Any entity that pays to run a library through taxes (school or public) has the right not to be forced into purchasing materials deemed objectionable by those paying the bills(taxpayers).

I am a frequent library customer, but I would rather not have one at all than have one unresponsive to the citizens it serves.
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Indeed, the information is not given on what is considered a ‘challenged’ book. AmISearching? and you noted that librarys may not choose to ‘stock’ the book. I’m not sure I would constitute that as “challenged” because there are thousands of books that are never purchased for libraries for space reasons.

But on the other hand it would also seem that with the popularity of some of these books, not purchasing a copy for a branch or an entire area library system, would constitute a “boycott” of sorts.

So that’s a great point. I guess when I read the article/information, I had images of irate citizens, and defensive library boards- debating over a particular title.

:rolleyes:
 
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puzzleannie:
for the record I don’t believe the ALA is advocating book banning, but is reporting on which books are most often challenged by the taxpaying public when they are purchased using taxpayer money for circulation in public libraries. Since the ALA is the lobbying organization that has deemed that the free speech provision of the bill of rights protects pornographic websites from being blocked on library computers, even those used by children, their opinion should be weighted accordingly.
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So true- but it would still stand to reason that if the local governments endure this “challenge” for this list of books, that our national government would be faced with this same list (statistically speaking). If it were ever under their power to regulate the distribution of library material- these would be the books on the forefront of the debate (again statistically speaking).
 
I can understanding why Catcher in the Rye is on the list-if only for the fact that it’s the most boring book every printed! What a snooze-fest!

However, I can’t see why To Kill a Mockingbird is on the list. That’s the best work of fiction ever written. I’ve read that book at least 30 times and I always learn something new each time I read it. It’s wonderful. I think it should be required reading for everyone.

Scout :tiphat:
 
The Giver was, to me, an excellent book highlighting the value of each and every human child. Why would it be banned?!?
And I have never seen Little Black Sambo as racist! I’ve read that book to all my grandchildren, doing all the voices, just as my father did for me.
And Tom Sawyer?!?
I wonder if the people making this list have ever actually read these books.
 
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catsrus:
I wonder if the people making this list have ever actually read these books.
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Probably not, but because it has a derogatory word in it they assume it must be a bad book.
 
“Banned Books Week” by the American Library Association is a farce if you give it some careful thought. These books are not truly banned at all. The titles are available in most bookstores.

Technically the books are only officially “banned” which means that a library, school district, or a municipality somewhere, no matter how small, has banned one of these books from their official bookshelves. A book banned from a local school may still be readily available at the local bookstore and local library.

Books that are truly banned would not appear on the popular list of banned books because that would only draw attention to them. Unlike the popular officially banned books that ARE available in stores from coast to coast, unofficially banned materials are harder to find.

Books with a lttle too much truth that might offend authorities are rarely found on any shelves. For example, a book about FBI criminal activity concealed by the press. In order to name a title not found in most stores, a person must know a truth that is not generally accepted and popular. This is not easy in an Orwellian society where the “banned books” are available in most libraries.
 
Every library has to “ban” some books–probably a lot of books, unless they can afford to indiscriminately buy every book ever published.

But there’s only so much money to go around, and somebody’s got to decide which books to get.

When it comes to the Internet, though, they can afford to let everything thing in, and as Annie said, the ALA’s position is that they cannot “censor” porn sites from libraray computers, so it’s got to be available to everybody, even children. Mom won’t let you watch porn at home? Go to the public library.
 
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