I am interrupting the regularly scheduled Monday Discussion this week to focus your attention on Banned Books Week, the annual week every year where libraries take a moment to Celebrate the Freedom to Read and expose the terrors of censorship.I mean, come on people who want to ban And Tango Makes Three all the time. It is NONFICTION for goodness sake. The author did not make up a gay penguin story. This really happened.
But that is an aside. Click here for the official Banned Books Week site. But I did want to take a moment to point out a few specific virtual events.
Since 2011, Banned Books Week has sponsored a Celebrity Read Out. There is one planned again for this year. Click here for the press release with information on how you can participate and here for the You Tube channel.
But the newest edition to the BBW festivities is an official Twitter Party. From the featured events page of the BBW site:
Banned Books Week 2013 Twitter Party
For the first time this year, Twitter parties will help promote the message of Banned Books Week. A party will be held on Monday, Sept. 23, from 10 a.m. to noon, Eastern Time, and Wednesday; a second party is scheduled for Wednesday, Sept. 25, from noon to 2 p.m., Eastern. Supporters are urged to tweet using the hashtag #bannedbooksweek. And additional tags: #bannedbookparty, #heroes, @OIF, @KidsRight2Read, @freadom, @FTRF.
Sample tweets include:
“Three cheers for the #bannedbooksweek #heroes. Thanks to all teachers, students, activists who stand up against #censorship” LINK
It’s #bannedbooksweek and I’m/we’re reading [insert banned book here]. Check out www.bannedbooksweek.org!Finally, here is the link to the ALA's Ideas and Resources page for BBW.
I celebrate Banned Books Week and champion the fight against censorship. However, as I say every year, I wish libraries would do more to oppose censorship - starting with their own collections. There is a lengthy (and growing) list of titles that American libraries just won't have on their shelves. Perhaps this is where attention should be focused rather than on titles banned by schools or other organizations in years past.
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