Megan Reed, Campus Carrier News Editor
Berry celebrated the 31st annual Banned Books Week by hosting a read-in of banned and challenged books on Wednesday.
Students, faculty and staff read passages from their favorite books, poems and songs which have been banned, censored or challenged because of content such as drug use, language and sexual content. Selections read included passages from “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J.K. Rowling, “Captain Underpants and the Attack of the Talking Toilets” by Dav Pilky, and the poem “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” by Maya Angelou.
Library director Sherre Herrington read the American Library Association’s (ALA)Freedom to Read Statement, which states that “the freedom to read is essential to our democracy” but that “it is continuously under attack.”
Web services librarian Steve Head coordinated the read-in event. He said that as a librarian, his job is to provide information to students, but he cannot do this if books which contain this information are censored. While some ideas and thoughts may be unpopular, he said, these books should still be available so that students can learn from and discuss them.
“All ideas, regardless of how dangerous they are, should be discussed,” Head said.
The ALA publishes a list each year of the most frequently banned and challenged books. The list is based on data reported to the Office for Intellectual Freedom. The most challenged book of 2012 was the Captain Underpants series by Dav Pilky, which has been criticized for “offensive language” and being “unsuited” for its target age group. The second most challenged book of 2012 was “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Sherman Alexie, which has been challenged for “offensive language, racism, sexually explicit [content] and [being] unsuited for [the target] age group.”
According to the ALA, the Harry Potter series were the most challenged books in the decade from 2000 to 2009. The books have been criticized for promoting Satanic ideas, violent content, anti-family values and their religious viewpoint.
