I doubt any of you will be surprised to read my view on banning books. It's simple- DON"T BAN BOOKS!Are some books really not worth my time to read? Of course.
Do I whole-heartedly disagree with the content of some books? Definitely.
Do I believe the ideas presented in some books to be harmful to those who read them? Certainly.
With all of this said, you'd think I'd be on the front lines burning the latest copies of books containing offensive materials and could never be the YA librarian considering all the content I disagree with in those books. No...I firmly believe each person must decide for him/herself what to allow into the mind and soul. Parents must be responsible and make those decisions for their families. Even teachers must carefully consider the choices made for their students. Librarians, however, are charged not with making moral decisions for others but with providing access to information (whether we agree with that information or not). Check out the Library Wars manga/ anime for more on this (though that is a little extreme- maybe).
Banned Book Week begins on September 26. For the rest of September I'll be featuring reviews of banned books and discussing ideas surrounding banned books. Chime in! I'll also be posting on Facebook and DA.
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