Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, Animal Farm by George Orwell, To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee and The Color Purple by Alice Walker all have one thing in common. These books have been challenged or banned.
Banned Books Week, set for Sept. 18 through 24 this year, was originally launched in 1982 as a response to an increasing number of challenges to books found in schools, bookstores and libraries, according to bannedbooksweek.org.
The Jacksonville Public Library has never banned a book, nor received any formal requests to do so, according to Library Director Trina Stidham. Neither has the Singletary Memorial Library, also known as the Rusk Public Library, according to Library Director Christine Camplain.
“We have had comments that a book wasn’t appropriate to be in the children’s section based on personal preference. The book was reviewed and moved to the Young Adult section,” Stidham stated. “We have put books in our Rare Book Collection because they were being stolen from local libraries and they were difficult to find and very expensive to replace.”
Access to books is not restricted at either library based on the age of a patron.
“A library should never restrict access to books based on personal opinion, religion, patron age or race, etc.,” Stidham stated.
To assist all patrons in locating books they feel are appropriate for themselves or their families, the Jacksonville library has a floor plan where books are grouped by target audience such as adult fiction and juvenile fiction, mystery verses science fiction and non-fiction, as defined by the Dewey Decimal system, according to Stidham.
“Staff is always available to help when you are looking for the book your favorite movie was based on and it is not where you expected it to be,” she said. “I have provided patrons a little extra information about a book or movie that their child is persuading the parent to allow them to check out.”
The library in Rusk has a separate room for children’s books, with the adult and young adult sections in the main room.
“We certainly try to dissuade younger children from checking out any adult book, even in our Christian section, because of content,” Camplain stated. “Even in our Christian section deals with tragedy, drinking, drugs and murder, which is content that young children are really not ready for.”
Neither library director believes banning books is a viable solution for materials to which some have objections.
“Every parent has the right to restrict their child’s access to any book, movie or magazine,” Stidham stated. “That parent does not have the right to restrict someone else’s child’s access to any book, movie or magazine. That is when censorship and book banning occurs.”
Champlain agreed that parents are responsible for their children and gave additional reasons against censorship.
“You cannot erase history by banning books, so banning them, it only takes information out of the public’s hands. I believe that there should be more time spent on our children’s education than worrying about a book that everyone’s already read,” she stated.
With so much information available through so many means, Stidham cautions people to research for themselves and know they are getting information from a reliable, qualified source.
“I am passionate about reading and protecting children. I do not believe banning books helps us. I like to remind people that if you support banning books, the Bible is on almost every list of banned books,” she stated.
“Our First Amendment rights make book banning unnecessary. As a citizen in the Untied States of America, I have the right to choose what I want to read or do not want to read to myself or to my child,” Stidham stated.
And that’s what Banned Books Week celebrates – the freedom to read.
For more information on Banned Books Week, visit bannedbooksweek.org or the American Library Association at ala.org.
For more information about the Jacksonville Public Library, visit the library’s webpage on the city’s website, jacksonvilletx.org. The library is listed under the Departments tab. The library also maintains a Facebook page.
For more information on the Singletary Memorial Library, visit rusktx.org/?page_id=6028, or find Rusk Public Library on Facebook.
