Welcome… To Banned Books Week 2015

Image courtesy ALA. Click through for source.

I would like to personally welcome you to the beginning of Banned Books Week.

The focus of Banned Books week is to celebrate the freedom to read, and to hopefully have a discussion about why certain books have been banned or challenged throughout the years. This week is not about forcing someone into a set of ideas, or taking away people’s rights to voice their opinion about a book. It’s about bringing to light the harm that censorship can do to people of all ages, races, religions….well, all people.

I believe that ALA’s website defines and describes banned and challenged books the best by saying challenges are “an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group” and continues with “challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others.”

I wanted this post to be informational to those who have not heard of Banned Books Week before, or those who have but weren’t quite sure what the big deal was, because I’m sure there will be plenty of posts/blogs/articles/podcasts/information about all the books that have been banned or challenged. Therefore, welcome to a passionate and intense week of book discussions and their value to the readers.

-Abbey