Anyone that knows me is aware that I’m a huge book freak. I can go off into a conversation about a book and happily enjoy chatting someone’s ear off.
We all know at Northwood we don’t have access to every book printed; they have to be school appropriate, but compared to other schools, we have an incredible library, with a greater freedom of reading selection than most.
But more and more books are being banned from libraries, something I believe isn’t right.
Books are banned from libraries with the intention to protect children and teens from difficult ideas and information, as well as to take away any book seen to be “unsuited for age group.”
A book can be banned when someone files a concerned report with the American Library Association. The book is then placed on a list of “challenged” books, and afterword can be officially banned from libraries and school curriculums, thereby restricting the material from others.
Some of the most frequently banned books include the Harry Potter and the Hunger Games series, as well as classic books we’ve read in school.
The Catcher in the Rye, To Kill A Mockingbird and The Kite Runner, all classic books we have, or will probably have to read sometime in school, have all been banned from various libraries and schools.
Isn’t it undermining the First Amendment, that the government or other people cannot prohibit an idea, just because society finds it offensive?
A book shouldn’t be taken out of the hands of others simply because it disagrees with someone’s beliefs. Books should be available to all people; if you don’t like it, don’t read the book.
A lot of the problem here seems to lie with parents. According to the list of challenges by initiator, institution, type, and year, done by the American Library Association, parents challenge materials more often than any other group.
Yes, parents should monitor what their children are reading, and set limits on what they think isn’t suitable for their child, but they shouldn’t freak out about a book just because it disagrees with them. They should have the right to take a book away from their child, but not away from everyone else.
All books should be available to the public through libraries; the reason the books are there in the first place is to entertain us, and help us expand our knowledge on different things.
Libraries should be a place of freedom to read, without the threat of books being taken out of our hands.
–By Meredith Norman