Banned Books Week

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Artwork courtesy of the American Library Association.[/caption]

“Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing.” Like Scout, from the novel, To Kill a Mockingbird, we tend to take for granted what we have, and it isn’t until we see something lost — or nearly lost — that we begin to appreciate it. There are many opportunities that we see as normal, and we don’t stop to think about what would happen if we were suddenly unable to perform the activities that we so love.

Reading is an opportunity not everyone has. Many people around the world don’t have access to information and, according to UNESCO (the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organization), 122 million young people are still illiterate. Free access to information is a privilege that shouldn’t be taken lightly. Censorship has shaped human history from the start. What would you do if someone went through your personal library and decided to burn your favorite books? Wouldn’t you fight for your right to keep it and read it as many times as you please? With a bit of luck, you’ve never been banned from reading a book. But this phenomenon is common, even today, and it might happen to anyone.

Every year, the book community joins forces during Banned Books Week to celebrate the freedom to read. Many titles have been censored or prohibited because of the themes, language, or reality they convey within their pages. Banned Books Week is for everyone who loves books — readers, publishers, editors, authors, librarians, teachers, booksellers, and those who believe in everyone’s right to open-access information.

Banned Books Week was first celebrated in 1982. This initiative sought to respond to the alarming raise of challenged books in schools, bookstores, and libraries. According to the American Library Association, more than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982. In 2014 alone, 311 books were challenged according to the Office of Intellectual Freedom — these are only the reported cases.

This week is not only about books. It is about the right every human being has to access information, in any form. Censorship implies a direct infringement on other person’s rights. We are all free to decide whether we read a book or not, but we are in no position to decide for others. The problem with censorship is that a person or a group of people choose what the rest can or can’t read. When a school bans a title from a teacher’s reading list, students lose their right to decide whether or not to study that book. When a library bans a book from their shelves, it loses visibility and readers lose the opportunity to discover its message.

While censorship aims to divert the attention from the content of a book, many challenged books have remained available in one way or another. This loophole is one of the reasons why Banned Books Week is a celebration, because of all the cases in which readers have kept their right to make up their own minds about a book.

This year, Banned Books Week is being held from September 27 to October 3. The focus is on Young Adult Literature, which has been particularly challenged in recent years. What truly needs to be banned is censorship itself, not the books. In order to end censorship, one person’s efforts are not enough. A community effort is necessary. During Banned Books Week, you can help raise awareness and spread the freedom to read. Throughout the entire country, you can find events, such as read-outs, conversations with authors, panels, and conferences. There are several online events, as well. You can even participate by sharing related content on social media.

As readers, our most worthy endeavors are those we aim at protecting everyone’s right to choose what they read. It is our responsibility as a community to raise our voices for those who can’t. Even if your freedom to read has never been compromised, you should participate in these movements. When we don’t fight censorship, we become censors ourselves. Reading is a gift, but it is also a responsibility. It comes with the responsibility to preserve this gift, as free as it may be.

Visit the Banned Books Week website for more information on how you can celebrate and preserve the freedom to read.

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