By Jessica Militante
You are in the library at school, browsing through the alphabetically-arranged titles among parallel aisles of written works. The novel you wish to borrow cannot be found in the spot you expect it, so you begin to check around a bit more to see if it had just been misplaced. After several more minutes of searching, you realize that it does not seem to be in the library at all. Curious, you ask the librarian if all the copies have already been lent out and, to your surprise, she replies that the novel you are looking for is banned from being distributed there. “Banned?” you wonder, but do not ask, for the librarian has already walked away, and the thought of how a book becomes banned plagues your mind. Well, dear reader, venture forward and discover the process of banning books.
History and Process of Banning Books
The idea and action of banning books has been around since the invention of the printing press in 1450, when it became too difficult to incinerate all copies of certain literature before they spread. Today, bans on books happen on a library to library basis. School libraries receiver more requests for books to be banned than do public libraries. The most prevalent genre of banned books is juvenile literature, with J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter series receiving the most banning requests each year since 2000, according to the American Library Association, which annually collects the information on requested book bans.
In order to ban a book, someone must first challenge it on a basis of the negative effects of its content. The American Library Association reports that most books are challenged due to sexually explicit content, offensive language, and inappropriate subjects for minors, with parents criticizing the most often. The individual libraries generally deal with the decisions regarding the requests for a ban, and if they comply with the request, the challenged book becomes successfully banned from that library.
Reactions to Book Banning
Mixed reactions occur every time a new book is banned ,sometimes in response to the book itself, but more often opinions are expressed about the process of banning a book. “Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment…We uphold the principles of intellectual freedom and resist all efforts to censor library resources,” is a quote from the American Library Association Library bill of rights which demonstrates a negative view on banning books. Oscar Wilde once said, “The books that the world calls immoral are books that show the world its own shame.”
Laura Mallory, a mother from Georgia who tried to get the Harry Potter series banned from her son’s elementary school in 2006, is a firm believer in book banning. During the 2006 case, Mallory stated, “They’re not educationally suitable and have been shown to be harmful to some kids.” Mallory then went on to describe how books such as J.K Rowling’s series encourage children to become Wiccans and promote a society where school shootings happen. Mallory’s challenging of the series was unsuccessful.
The Future of Book Banning
Although it is unclear which books will be banned in the future, it is safe to assume that as long as books exist, the process of banning certain ones will continue to be in effect. There are going to be books that groups of people will not approve of and try to censor, but one can never predict what the decision of the ban requests will be. That lies in the hands of the libraries.
From the American Library Association:
“Last year, there were 326 reported challenges. This year’s list includes titles ranging from The Hunger Games, to Brave New World. Here is the complete list:”
- ttyl; ttfn; l8r, g8r (series), by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: offensive language; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- The Color of Earth (series), by Kim Dong Hwa
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- The Hunger Games trilogy, by Suzanne Collins
Reasons: anti-ethnic; anti-family; insensitivity; offensive language; occult/satanic; violence
- My Mom’s Having A Baby! A Kid’s Month-by-Month Guide to Pregnancy, by Dori Hillestad Butler
Reasons: nudity; sex education; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie
Reasons: offensive language; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit; unsuited to age group
- Alice (series), by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; religious viewpoint
- Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley
Reasons: insensitivity; nudity; racism; religious viewpoint; sexually explicit
- What My Mother Doesn’t Know, by Sonya Sones
Reasons: nudity; offensive language; sexually explicit
- Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily Von Ziegesar
Reasons: drugs; offensive language; sexually explicit
- To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Reasons: offensive language; racism