Karen Drevo, Chair of NLA's Intellectual Freedom Committee, will answer the following questions: What is Banned Books Week? Why celebrate it? Where are ideas and resources to help celebrate it?

1. BANNED BOOKS WEEK September 25 – October 2, 2010 CELEBRATE YOUR FREEDOM TO READ

2. WHAT IS BANNED BOOKS WEEK?

3. Banned Books Week (BBW) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read and the importance of the First Amendment. Held during the last week of September, BBW highlights the benefits of free and open access to information while drawing attention to the harms of censorship by spotlighting actual or attempted bannings of books across the United States.

4. BBW is sponsored by the American Booksellers Association; American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression; the American Library Association; American Society of Journalists and Authors; Association of American Publishers; and the National Association of College Stores. It is endorsed by the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress.

5. WHY CELEBRATE BANNED BOOKS WEEK?People and groups that censor or challenge books do so with the best of intentions; the desire to protect people, especially children, from ideas considered dangerous or controversial. However, when censorship is allowed, it restricts free thinking and free speech, and in some cases may even restrict the truth.

6. Books that are challenged are quietly removed from classroom shelves and public and school libraries. Groups that denounce the reading of certain materials deemed harmful challenge those books and restrict its reading by their members. Many times the offensive topics include profanity, sex, or religion.

7. Intellectual freedom includes the right for the individual to decide what is right and wrong. Being exposed to different points of view and different experiences through books helps to develop independent thinking. It also protects the individuals that have views that differ from the mainstream by allowing unpopular views to be voiced. These views may be expressed in books, essays, audio recordings or podcasts, or on the Internet.

8. “[I]t's not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.” — Judy Blume

9. “When books are challenged, restricted, removed, or banned, an atmosphere of suppression exists...the fear of the consequences of censorship is as damaging as, or perhaps more damaging than, the actual censorship attempt. After all, when a published work is banned, it can usually be found elsewhere. Unexpressed ideas, unpublished works, unpublished books are lost forever.”--Robert P. Doyle

10. ALL of the top ten frequently challenged books of 2008 will be found in library collections for young people! There are Accelerated Reader and/or Scholastic Reading Counts quizzes for every one of these titles:

11. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell Reasons: anti-ethnic, anti-family, homosexuality, religious viewpoint, and unsuited to age groupHis Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip PullmanReasons: political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, and violence TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren MyracleReasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group

12. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin SchwartzReasons: occult/satanism, religious viewpoint, and violence Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo AnayaReasons: occult/satanism, offensive language, religious viewpoint, sexually explicit, and violence The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen ChboskyReasons: drugs, homosexuality, nudity, offensive language, sexually explicit, suicide, and unsuited to age group

13. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von ZiegesarReasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group Uncle Bobby's Wedding, by Sarah S. BrannenReasons: homosexuality and unsuited to age group The Kite Runner, by Khaled HosseiniReasons: offensive language, sexually explicit, and unsuited to age group Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle HarperReasons: sexually explicit and unsuited to age group

14. HOW DID BANNED BOOKS WEEK START?In 1967, the ALA founded the Office for Intellectual Freedom, (OIF). The mission of this office is to support intellectual freedom as described in the Library Bill of Rights. This includes challenging censorship and resisting abridgement of free expression and free access to ideas. At that time, there was no celebration of Banned Books Week.

15. In 1982, the American Booksellers Association laid the groundwork for Banned Books Week at their annual convention. Armed with a list and display of nearly 500 banned books or challenged books, they generated interest in fighting reading censorship by creating a Banned Books Week celebration.

16. The first celebration was sponsored by the American Booksellers Association, (ABA), the American Library Association, (ALA), and the National Association of College Stores, (NACS). The displays in bookstores and libraries across the nation raised public awareness of censored books, and reminded people of their right to read any book or publication without interference from another person or entity. The ALA has primarily been responsible for organizing Banned Books Week since 1983.

17. HOW BANNED BOOKS WEEK IS CELEBRATEDSince 1983, the ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/index.cfmhas developed materials, media releases, products, & events in support of the celebration of Banned Books Week. It also maintains a list of banned books, including the most frequently banned children’s books.

18. Community activities are organized through the local libraries, booksellers, schools, and organizations. People are encouraged to read books on the list of banned books, participate in the events, and share the freedom to read. Facebook and MySpace pages have been set up for Banned Books Week so readers may follow and stay informed of the events.

19. Banned Books Week Facebook page:http://www.facebook.com/bannedbooksweekBanned Books Week on YouTube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxqbRRQtaLchttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eLprbWMd8mM

20. IN ADDITION TO ALA, MATERIALS FOR BANNED BOOKS WEEK ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM UPSTART, DEMCO, ZAZZLE, THE ODEE COMPANY, CAFE PRESS, AMERICAN BOOKSELLERS FOUNDATION FOR FREE EXPRESSION, AND MANY OTHER VENDORS.

21. RESOURCES TO HELP YOU CELEBRATE BANNED BOOKS WEEK

22. https://sites.google.com/site/intellectualfreedomcommittee/ http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/calendar-activities/ready-celebrate-banned-books-20295.html http://www.randomhouse.com/teens/firstamendment/talking.html http://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=1366 http://www.ila.org/pdf/2010banned.pdf

23. The Academic Freedom Coalition of Nebraska http://www.nebafcon.org/ American Civil Liberties Union of Nebraskahttp://www.aclunebraska.org/First Amendment Center http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/

24. “The public library is the most dangerous place in town.”—John Ciardi, U.S. poet & critic (1916-1986)

25. Free downloads: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/free_downloads/index.cfm Display ideas: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/display_ideas/index.cfm

26. What can YOU do to fight censorship?Keep books available in your library & promote the freedom to read!See: http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/free_downloads/2010banned.pdfVisit…http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/activity_ideas/index.cfm

27. Proclaim Banned Books Week at your local public library. ALA Banned Books proclamation found at:http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/bannedbooksweek/ideasandresources/banned_books_week_proclamation/proclamation.cfm

28. EVERY LIBRARY SHOULD BE FAMILIAR WITH:Nebraska Intellectual Freedom Handbook http://www.nlc.state.ne.us/freedom/intellectfree.html http://www.ala.org/ala/issuesadvocacy/banned/challengeslibrarymaterials/index.cfm STAY INFORMED AND CHALLENGE CENSORSHIP!

29. EVERY LIBRARY SHOULD HAVE2010 BBW Resource Guide by Robert P. Doyle, an ALA Publication, 978-0-8389-8547-2 (an updated guide is published every 3 years)Intellectual Freedom Manual, 8th ed., an ALA Publication compiled by the OIF, updates to the manual are available at http://www.ala.org/ala/aboutala/offices/oif/iftoolkits/ifmanual/intellectual.cfm

30. “Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you are going to conceal thoughts by concealing evidence that they ever existed.” --Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953“Where they have burned books, they will end in burning human beings.”--Heinrich Heine, 1823Read: What Makes a Good Banned Book? by Pat Scales from the Sept/Oct 2009 issue of Horn Book Magazine, p. 533

31. Presented by:Karen DrevoNorfolk Public Librarykdrevo@ci.norfolk.ne.us402-844-2108