The Importance Of Censorship In The Library

The American Library Association has always opposed censorship in libraries, and actively protests the banning of books (“ALA”). The ALA sponsor “Banned Books Week” every year, in an attempt to bring attention to the censorship of books across the United States. The ALA is firmly against the practice of banning, as Barbara Jones, the director of ALA’s office for Intellectual Freedom, said in this statement ‘Using threats to books to wage war on ideas that some may disagree with is offensive to the ALA, which embraces the diversity of our nation as one of our greatest strengths.”

Judy Blume once said, “Something will be offensive to someone in every book, so you’ve just got to fight it.” Over the past twenty years, public libraries have started to ban certain books due to certain themes that have been seen as “unfit” by the county board. But personally, i wonder who is really at liberty to say what is fit in our society. In a country where it is our very right to freedom of speech, banning books does not only go against it, but it’s almost an insult. The public library should not have any banned books because it promotes censorship, it is futile, and the books we read are some of our greatest teachers.

On the other hand, some people argue that book censorship is a violation of their constitutional right to freedom of speech, and the right to self expression. One article puts its effects this way, “Permitting restraints on literature sets the stage for attacks on all expression that is artistically or politically controversial or that portray unpleasant realities of life.” This,

Knowledge is power. Using knowledge, people can reshape society and the world as a whole, changing it for the better. However, gaining access to the necessary wealth of information requires a full education: people should be taught multiple ideologies and topics from an unbiased perspective. They must receive access to various viewpoints in their entirety. Teaching only one worldview strips students of their ability to truly analyze the world and its issues, because they cannot look beyond the one restrictive narrative they learned and therefore cannot develop their own perspective. Censorship hinders schools, institutions with the purpose of informing students and helping them develop their beliefs. Therefore, schools should not practice censorship when selecting literature for students because censorship obscures the purpose of literature, because censorship fails to expose students to a variety of ideas, and because censorship removes students’ ability to develop unique opinions and worldviews; education should provide an unbiased view of the world and many ideologies, so students can take their own stance on various issues rather than blindly following what they learn.

    In the article for banned books, that I found on the internet, the page explains what a librarian's, perspective is on banning books. Sharon Coatney is a librarian at a small high school. She says that the books or library was literally in a cage, so the students had very little access to the books. Coatney tells us that, “libraries have specific policies that are followed in selecting books for inclusion in the collection”. This means that the school library are not banning books, but they are selecting specific books that “supports the curriculum”, and that is “age appropriate”. Her job, as a librarian, is to “select”, and not “censor”. Lastly, she says that the hardest part of her job, is to “constantly keep in balance all viewpoints, not push my own agenda and remember that the education and safety of all students is my top priority”. She

“Censorship is the child of fear and the father of ignorance”. – Laurie Henderson. By banning books, it can deprive children the information or the mental nourishment they will need for life.

Think back to when you were in high school, do you remember that one book you read that really opened your eyes? Well the sad reality is that somewhere in the world that favorite book you read is either banned or challenged in a library. So it sits locked away never to open the eyes of another or help educate them further on its contents. Books should not be banned in libraries. We have the freedom of speech, so why take away or censor our freedom to simply read and consume literature?

Additionally, “The Supreme Court and other courts have held conclusively that there is a First Amendment right to receive information; the right to receive information is a corollary to the right to speak.” (¨First Amendment and Censorship¨). So, by banning books and restricting the information that you can receive from the book it violates the first amendment. Since the right to receive information is the right to speak the government cannot restrict the information that books offer or the book itself. Lastly, “When the Supreme Court considered whether a local school board violated the Constitution by removing books from a school library, it held that “the right to receive ideas is a necessary predicate to the recipient’s meaningful exercise of his own rights of speech, press, and political freedom.” (¨First Amendment and Censorship¨). The ideas held in books are valuable and can provide many useful insights. By banning books you take these ideas away and they are extinguished. Banning books is unconstitutional and violates the rights of United States

Books are said to be teachers, playing an important role in providing information. The lessons and information taught in these books can initiate many thoughts and influence the choices one makes depending on the information that the book feeds the mind. A way that is used to control and regulate the books that the young people of society read and the knowledge there for them to grasp is through the use of censorship. Book censorship is the practice of officially examining books and suppressing unacceptable parts. Censorship is most often placed on books because of religious reasons, inclusion of sexual content, and as well as offensive language to prevent society from engaging intolerable acts.

Book banning has been used throughout history as a way to control the ideas of a society. It is “a form of censorship that attempts to control the dissemination of thoughts and ideas that some groups in society believe to be harmful”(“Book Banning”). Governments and religious bodies have tried to ban books with differing or revolutionary views. Today, the top reasons books are banned are because of sexual content, objectionable language, violence, homosexual themes, racism, and religion (Whelan). The argument of book banning is seen in communities, school boards, public libraries, and state legislature, and can involve governments, corporations, book publishers, and private citizens (“Introduction To Book Banning: At Issue”). Book banning

Judy Blume, a children’s author who has had four books on the Top 100 Banned/Challenged books list for the past two decades, once stated, “In this age of censorship, …, I mourn the voices that will be silenced-…, teachers' voices, students' voices-and all because of fear. How many have resorted to self-censorship? How many are saying to themselves, ‘Nope…Can’t teach that book. Can’t have that book in our collection” (Blume). When challenges to books occur, it can induce a state of self-censorship among teachers, librarians, and administrators. Censorship can deprive students of valuable educational materials and opportunities to learn about serious issues in the world. Because of this,

Media outlets such as public libraries are an option for the general public to go learn about the world around them. It offers books advertised to all age groups and view points. The idea of taking certain books off the shelf is the same as refusing to teach about a certain topic because the teacher doesn't enjoy it. While it may be true that these media outlets may offer some offensive content, it is important to understand opposing view point; while still disagreeing with them. By learning about multiple opinions on the same topic, it allows people to have better arguments and find pros and cons of each side and all together come up

As stated by Christine Jenkins, an Associate Professor at the Graduate College of Library and Information Science in Illinois, “‘...this library isn’t my library. It’s our library, it’s everyone’s library.’ And so, these people, and these people, and these people, and these people can come find what they want in the library.” (“Perspectives on Intellectual Freedom…” 1:42) In other words, everyone will come to the library to seek what they want to read, not what they don't want to read. Also, in the short interview with renowned actor, author, and producer Bob Balaban, he explains, “I can understand how if you’re a parent, you can decide that your child can only read books about celery, if that’s what you want. But please don't make me, and my friends, and my children, only read books about celery.” (“Authors discuss censorship... ” 2:39) In making this comment, Balaban argues that while it is reasonable for parents to restrict what their children read within their home, they should not take away what they don't want their child to see outside of their home, which would cause or threaten that resource to be taken away. This idea is similar to vegetarians. Whether their diet follows a particular religion or they chose to do so themselves, being a vegetarian does not affect others in ways that all the meat around the world is taken away. Books in libraries should be treated the same way. In conclusion, a book should not be banned just because one person disagrees with or dislikes its

What would you do if you went to your child's school and saw that they were looking at inappropriate material on the internet? Would you react the same way if they were in a public library? Who decides what is okay for your children to view? Who decides where they can view it? What can you do about them being able to view these things? Are there any laws that can prevent this from happening? What are some schools and libraries doing to help prevent children form looking at such material? These are all issues that will be discussed in the next few paragraphs, along with my opinions on the matter.

In our modern society, countless people craving attention feel the need to eliminate what information they deem as offensive. Despite this recurring trend, it is the right of all people to pursue the knowledge and literature they wish. It is a basic human right that should not be taken away. Never in human history has the world ever catered to the individual opinions of every human on earth, and protected people from what they found offensive. As we all have the basic right to acquire knowledge, I firmly believe that the censorship libraries should be stopped.