This write up is a good one! Don’t miss it!
“Banned Books Week” is September 25 – October 1 this year. BBW is a program originated by The American Library Association “Office for Intellectual Freedom,” which purports to protect threatened books from attempts at suppression.The ALA website states:
The ALA promotes the freedom to choose or the freedom to express one’s opinions even if that opinion might be considered unorthodox or unpopular and stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those viewpoints to all who wish to read them.
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.
It is difficult to imagine that members of this venerable organization are themselves attempting to suppress the release and distribution of a book—but that is exactly what is happening.