Yesterday I kicked off our Banned Books Week with a post about my thoughts on BBW and giveaway of one of my favorite books on the list, The Giver. Today I wanted to focus on what Banned Books Week is and how it started. So, what exactly is Banned Book Week and why do we celebrate it? I googled the definition and the history of Banned Book Week and this is what I've found.
"Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign that celebrates the freedom to read,[1] draws attention to banned and challenged books,[2] and highlights persecuted individuals.[3] The United States campaign "stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of those unorthodox or unpopular viewpoints to all who wish to read them"[4] and the requirement to keep material publicly available so that people can develop their own conclusions and opinions. The international campaign notes individuals "persecuted because of the writings that they produce, circulate or read."[3]
- quoted from here
Did you know that Banned Books Week has been celebrated since 1982? I had no idea! I thought it was something that was relatively new. Since 1982 it's held the last week in September and the campaign was founded by First Amendment and library activist Judith Krug. You can read more about Judith here.
What is the purpose of Banned Book Week?
The purpose of Banned Books Week is to "teach the importance of our First Amendment rights and the power of literature, and to draw attention to the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society."- quoted from here
Banned Books Week is a week that unites book lovers and readers of all ages. We're educators, students, parents, children, librarians, bloggers, publishers, authors and so forth whom all come together to celebrate the FREEDOM to read. Closing books closes ideas, imagination and the freedom to dream and to become. It closes possibilities and imagination. It breeds ignorance, intolerance and prejudice.
CELEBRATE THE FREEDOM TO READ! Pick up a BANNED BOOK today!
I also included some useful links in our right hand side bar for Banned Books Week. Go here to find ALA's (American Library Association):
Posts
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteGreat post. Look forward to what all the bloggers will be posting this week. I just finished my 2nd challenged/banned book for this week. Woohoo ! Free the books.
ReplyDelete