A banned book may be anathema to some, a classic to others
12 a.m. Monday, June 4, 2007
The Topeka Shawnee County Library is having a special tour, a banned book tour.
"I always say, if you walk in a public library, in our library, and you don't find something that is offensive to you personally, then we're not doing our job," says Gina Millsap, Executive Director of the Topeka Shawnee County Library.
Gina says the Banned Book Tour is about letting people know they have the freedom to read what they choose.
"As someone who lives in a country that has the First Amendment, that's a very important and powerful freedom to cherish and preserve," said Gina.
Learn more...
Banned Books Walking Tour, Topeka Shawnee County Public Library, Through June 18th, (785) 580-4400, www.tscpl.org.
For a list of banned or challenged books, link to the American Library Association.
The Banned Book Tour is a walking tour of both banned and challenged books. Gina says banned books are books that have generally been removed from school or public libraries. Challenged books have not been removed from the shelves, but someone has offered an expression of concern.
Books are banned or challenged for a variety of reasons.
"It could be the language that's used. It could be the content. It might be sexual content. It could be a notion or an idea that someone finds frightening or is just challenging to their world view or perspective. It could be their intellectual views, their emotional views, their religious views."
Web-Exclusive Video
Listen to extended comments from Gina Millsap about why the library keeps certain books, even if they are banned or challenged by other libraries and schools.
Some classic works have been banned or challenged, including the Bible, writings by James Baldwin, Harper Lee, and Shakespeare.
"The irony is, is that some of our greatest works of literature ... really define the human condition. And in some instances, people have found that objectionable. In terms of not just reading it for themselves, but making sure no one else is allowed to read it either," says Gina.
Books are frequently challenged on behalf of children.
"But libraries don't make good parents. Parents make the best parents. What we don't want to do is usurp the right of parents to choose for their own children. Because what's appropriate for one child in one family may not be appropriate for another," says Gina.
Gina has been a librarian for 30 years and in the past had to order books she found personally offensive.
"But they needed to be in the library because they represented an information need or a reading need in our community. It was the right thing to do," says Gina.
Gina says the Banned Book Tour shows what has happened with books in the past and what could happen in the future.
"Everyone has the right to make the choice for him or herself. But they don't have the right to make that choice for everyone else. And that's why we have libraries," said Gina.
Comments
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Jun. 5, 2007 at 7:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)SafeLibraries (anonymous)
"It also highlights the thing we know about Banned Books Week that we don't talk about much — the bulk of these books are challenged by parents for being age-inappropriate for children. While I think this is still a formidable thing for librarians to deal with, it's totally different from people trying to block a book from being sold at all."
"Banned Books Week is Next Week," by former ALA Councilor Jessamyn West.
http://www.librarian.net/stax/1858/banne...
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