The Real Issue With Book Banning
“You’re going to have problems finding someone who is for the banning of books.”
This is the quote one of my professors gave me when I tried to write a paper on the censorship of novels. While she was talking primarily about sources in the academic world, this professor was wrong in one sense: There are plenty of people who are OK with banning books in this world.
Of course, a book becoming banned and removed from a library shelf isn’t exactly something that happens overnight.
For a book to become banned from a library, it first has to be challenged by someone. That person is typically a parent or unaffiliated patron of the library. Following that, though the process of a challenge is reviewed varies slightly.
“Each school, institution, public library, or other organization will have it’s own policy…Typically, a librarian, library board, school board, or another committee reviews the challenge, and decides whether to uphold it or not,” said Ellie Diaz. Diaz is the Program Officer for the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom.
Established in 1967, according to their website, the Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF), “…is charged with implementing ALA policies concerning the concept of intellectual freedom as embodied in the Library Bill of Rights, the Association’s basic policy on free access to libraries and library materials. The goal of the office is to educate librarians and the general public about the nature and importance of intellectual freedom in libraries.”
One of the ways the OIF does this is through Banned Books Week, which this year takes place Sep. 27-Oct. 3.
“Banned Books Week began in 1982, and usually takes place in September as that’s when students are returning to school and that’s when we see an increase in reported challenges. Opportunity to not only celebrate banned books, but draw attention to recent censorship attempts,” said Diaz.
With all of this in mind, today, we’re going to try and tackle three big questions: Why do people try to censor novels? What harms does censorship cause? and How can you show your support of banned books?
Why Do People Try To Censor Novels?
While censorship may seem like too heft a word to some when it comes to describing book banning, one of the main problems is that it actually isn’t.
According to the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) censorship is, “the suppression or prohibition of any parts of books, films, news, etc. that are considered obscene, politically unacceptable, or a threat to security.” And that’s exactly what people are trying to do.
“ALA has been tracking Banned Books since 1982. Because of that, we see a lot of common trends. In the ‘80’s, the main theme was books that contained sexual education. In the 2000’s it was witchcraft, due to the rise of the Harry Potter series. And now it’s diverse content. Things like LGBTQIA+ stories or characters, and books that talk about race or racism,” said Diaz.
Though, at leas in Diaz’s eyes, the main reason isn’t just political suppression.
“It’s fear. It’s out of fear of their families reading these books, fear of other families reading these books, fear of having uncomfortable conversations,” said Diaz.
And the most recent list of banned books seems to only support that. Every year, the ALA publishes the 10 most challenged books in that year, and in 2019 eight out of 10 of the books were because they contained, “…LQBTQIA+ content.”
Another major reason for the attempted suppression of certain topics could be in an attempt to control what people think/how they think about it. In that list of the 10 most challenged books, the ALA publishes a few direct quotes from challenges, and just in 2019 those quotes include things like “libraries should not ‘put books in a child’s hand that require discussion’”, “its effect on any young people who would read it,” and that a book is, “designed to pollute the morals of its readers.”
Putting aside the notion that children or young adults are not able to handle novels that deal with controversial issues, part of the point of reading is to encourage conversation, and make the reader see the world from a new view. Trying to stop a library from having a book because you don’t want to see that view is entirely counterproductive to the point. Which leads us to the next question.
What Harms Does Censorship Cause?
As mentioned above, one of the harms is that, when people engage in censorship, they are attempting to control how the community thinks, and trying to get the families around them to think the same way the person pushing for censorship does.
“I think it’s important to have a process to voice their opinions…and parents have the right to determine their own reading and guide their families reading. The tricky part is when they try to judge what’s appropriate for entire community…Your not just censoring your family, you’re trying to censor the families around you too,” said Diaz.
However, a bigger issue with censoring stories is the affect that it has on readers, and the suppression of certain voices.
“Banning books silences stories. It takes away the opportunity [for the reader] to see themselves and learn about other peoples lives. What some find controversial, others find reflects their lives. Removing books sends the message that readers cannot handle these messages, and that their stories are not welcome in this place,” said Diaz.
And this sort of censorship does have a real world impact. As one of the quotes on the graphic above from a community member on the challenging of Prince & Knight, by Daniel Haack shows.
“Had I had a book like that on the shelf, I might have realized a lot sooner that I could love myself. I might have realized a lot sooner that it’s O.K. to feel different.”
Censorship hurts people with unique stories, and it marginalizes those who feel a diminished importance in most communities normally. This is the real harm that banning books does. It makes the readers who see themselves in these books feel unwelcome.
How Can You Show Your Support For Banned Books?
So, if you don’t want to see readers marginalized and stories lost to censorship, how can you fight back?
Well, the biggest way is to report challenges, bans, or other censorship in your local libraries.
“Most challenges happen on a local level, so we almost never hear about them. Our estimates are that 87–92 percent of challenges go unreported,” said Diaz.
And those numbers can add up. Last year, the ALA reported 377 challenges. If that estimate is accurate, that means there’s a potential for over 700 challenges to have been issued just last year. And these aren’t just YA novels or children’s books either. Literary classics and beloved works like The Great Gatsby, the Harry Potter series, the Lord of the Rings series, To Kill A Mockingbird, and 1984 have all been challenged and/or banned.
Another way to support banned books is through the ALA’s Dear Banned Author program.
“Dear Banned Author allows readers to reach out to banned authors and let them know how they have been affected. Some authors have used these letters when challenges go public to show how readers support the work,” said Diaz.
Readers who tweet either a description or memory of a banned or challenged book, a thank-you message to a banned or challenged author, a picture of a postcard written to a banned or challenged author, or a quote from a banned or challenged book with the hashtag #DearBannedAuthor will be entered into a drawing to win a Banned Books tote with a number of prizes in it. The contest ends Monday, October 3rd at 8pm CST.
People who want to learn more about book censorship can also join the Scary Stories watchalong. A description from the ALA’s website:
“ ‘Scary Stories’ is a full-length documentary about the banned book series that includes the 1981 anthology Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark and its two sequels by Alvin Schwartz. Approximately 40 interviews were conducted, from family members of the author, fellow children’s book horror authors, and folklorists, to librarians, artists, and fans.
For Banned Books Week, we invite you to stream the free documentary on Friday, October 2, at 6 p.m. CST and join the conversation on Twitter using #CensorshipisScary or on the Facebook Event page. After the film, join us on the Banned Books Week YouTube channel for a Q&A with Director Cody Meirick.”
You can learn more here.
While some stories may contain sensitive subject matters, and some readers may be adverse to that, the benefits of allowing books to remain on library shelves far outweigh the dangers. Reading is meant to shake your worldview, and give you another perspective to view things from.
To quote oft-challenged author John Green, “If a novel is powerful enough to shake your ideology, let me suggest that the problem is not with the novel.”
