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ENLARGE
A selection of banned or challenged books is currently on display in the Douglas County Library's lobby.
So you know...
This year’s Banned Books Week theme is “Closing Books Shuts Out Ideas.” An exhibit of banned or challenged books can be viewed in the Headquarters Library lobby, 1409 N.E. Diamond Lake Blvd. Several banned or challenged books are displayed near the reference desk in the library and are available for checkout.
Some of the most challenged books of 2007:
• “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman. Reason: religious viewpoint.
• “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain. Reason: racism.
• “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group.
More banned or challenged books:
• “Captain Underpants,” by Dav Pilkey. Reason: encouraging children to disrespect authority.
• “Running with Scissors,” by Augusten Burroughs. Reason: sexually explicit.
• The “Harry Potter” series, by J.K. Rowling. Reason: promoting witchcraft.
Some of the most challenged books of 2007:
• “The Golden Compass,” by Philip Pullman. Reason: religious viewpoint.
• “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn,” by Mark Twain. Reason: racism.
• “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” by Stephen Chbosky. Reasons: homosexuality, sexually explicit, offensive language, unsuited to age group.
More banned or challenged books:
• “Captain Underpants,” by Dav Pilkey. Reason: encouraging children to disrespect authority.
• “Running with Scissors,” by Augusten Burroughs. Reason: sexually explicit.
• The “Harry Potter” series, by J.K. Rowling. Reason: promoting witchcraft.
As a self-described “heavy reader,” Roseburg’s Chris Grandy has a little to say about a lot of books.
Especially the dozen or so displayed on a table at the Douglas County Library to remind patrons that the freedom to read is a privilege.
In honor of Banned Books Week, volumes that have been challenged or banned at some point in their existence are currently on exhibit.
“I just took one off this table a couple of days ago,” said Grandy on Tuesday.
He chose a Norman Mailer book titled “The Naked and the Dead.” The plot is based on the writer’s experience as an infantry rifleman in the Philippines during World War II. The book was banned in Canada and Australia in 1949.
Grandy said the story is grim, but he couldn’t imagine not being able to read the book at all.
“It’d be stupid. People should understand what war is like,” Grandy said. “You read stories like this, you realize war is a really nasty business.”
The role of a public library, explained public services librarian Chris Crowe, is to provide a wide variety of material reflecting all topics and opinions — no one person or group should limit what other people read.
Library patrons are free to express their opinions and may challenge any book. When choosing books for the library collection, Crowe said the staff uses a selection policy guide. When patrons object to material, they are given a copy of the guide to review before pursuing the challenge. The library director ultimately makes the decision to retain the volume, move it to another department (from young adult to adult) or ban the book.
The Douglas County Library averages two to three formal challenges a year.
“As conservative a county as we may be, people rarely ask that we remove a book from the collection,” said Crowe, wearing a bright yellow “I read banned books” pin on her lapel.
Especially the dozen or so displayed on a table at the Douglas County Library to remind patrons that the freedom to read is a privilege.
In honor of Banned Books Week, volumes that have been challenged or banned at some point in their existence are currently on exhibit.
“I just took one off this table a couple of days ago,” said Grandy on Tuesday.
He chose a Norman Mailer book titled “The Naked and the Dead.” The plot is based on the writer’s experience as an infantry rifleman in the Philippines during World War II. The book was banned in Canada and Australia in 1949.
Grandy said the story is grim, but he couldn’t imagine not being able to read the book at all.
“It’d be stupid. People should understand what war is like,” Grandy said. “You read stories like this, you realize war is a really nasty business.”
The role of a public library, explained public services librarian Chris Crowe, is to provide a wide variety of material reflecting all topics and opinions — no one person or group should limit what other people read.
Library patrons are free to express their opinions and may challenge any book. When choosing books for the library collection, Crowe said the staff uses a selection policy guide. When patrons object to material, they are given a copy of the guide to review before pursuing the challenge. The library director ultimately makes the decision to retain the volume, move it to another department (from young adult to adult) or ban the book.
The Douglas County Library averages two to three formal challenges a year.
“As conservative a county as we may be, people rarely ask that we remove a book from the collection,” said Crowe, wearing a bright yellow “I read banned books” pin on her lapel.
Crowe said the library exhibit mostly elicits a reaction from youth.
“I think they’re amazed there have been limitations put on reading,” she said.
Roseburg High School librarian Mary McClintock said in 20 years, there has been one challenge over a Stephen King book. The novel was retained by the school district. McClintock recently turned away a cartoon book called “The Book of Bunny Suicides.”
While public libraries are supposed to objectively serve the public, school libraries are more limited in their collections, she said.
Banned Books Week might have come and gone quietly this year had there not been a donnybrook over Gov. Sarah Palin’s inquiries about library policy.
A firestorm of Internet rumors claim she reportedly asked how to ban books at a public library in Wasilla, Alaska, when she was that town’s mayor. One person commented on an online blog that “Sarah Palin should be crowned queen of this year’s Banned Books Week.”
In an interview with ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson, Palin said she “never banned a book, never desired to ban a book.”
With or without the Palin angle, banned book exhibits at libraries are meant to raise awareness about rights to intellectual freedom.
“The celebration of Banned Books Week is an annual reminder that we stand for the freedom to read,” McClintock said.
And people such as Grandy appreciate the effort. He pointed to a threadbare copy of “Moby Dick,” surprised at its inclusion on the display table.
“I mean, that’s one of the classics,” he said before heading to the checkout counter with his newest selection — a book about evolution — found on a library shelf.
• You can reach reporter Cara Pallone at 957-4208 or by e-mail at cpallone@nrtoday.com.
“I think they’re amazed there have been limitations put on reading,” she said.
Roseburg High School librarian Mary McClintock said in 20 years, there has been one challenge over a Stephen King book. The novel was retained by the school district. McClintock recently turned away a cartoon book called “The Book of Bunny Suicides.”
While public libraries are supposed to objectively serve the public, school libraries are more limited in their collections, she said.
Banned Books Week might have come and gone quietly this year had there not been a donnybrook over Gov. Sarah Palin’s inquiries about library policy.
A firestorm of Internet rumors claim she reportedly asked how to ban books at a public library in Wasilla, Alaska, when she was that town’s mayor. One person commented on an online blog that “Sarah Palin should be crowned queen of this year’s Banned Books Week.”
In an interview with ABC News anchor Charlie Gibson, Palin said she “never banned a book, never desired to ban a book.”
With or without the Palin angle, banned book exhibits at libraries are meant to raise awareness about rights to intellectual freedom.
“The celebration of Banned Books Week is an annual reminder that we stand for the freedom to read,” McClintock said.
And people such as Grandy appreciate the effort. He pointed to a threadbare copy of “Moby Dick,” surprised at its inclusion on the display table.
“I mean, that’s one of the classics,” he said before heading to the checkout counter with his newest selection — a book about evolution — found on a library shelf.
• You can reach reporter Cara Pallone at 957-4208 or by e-mail at cpallone@nrtoday.com.
