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Get Ready for Banned Books Week!

As library people, we want to share information. That’s pretty much our entire focus.

So having people ban books is not something we take lightly. Banned Books Week is a time to educate ourselves on books, and to be ready to talk about books with our communities.

Check out this article for some ideas:

“Celebrate Banned Books Week,
September 22-28, 2019

By: Jamie Gregory

Censorship leaves us in the dark. Keep the light on.

Censorship Leaves Us in the Dark Keep the Light On ALA Banned Books Week 2019

This is the American Library Association’s chosen theme for Banned Books Week, September 22-28, 2019.  

Banned Books Week is my favorite yearly celebration in the library because it offers so many learning opportunities to students, mostly importantly by opening the door to discussion about intellectual freedom and its role in a democratic, open society.

Different types of censorship create different types of darkness in our society. This year, offer the following topics for teens to consider:

Tips

  • Students should learn the difference between a challenge and a ban.
  • Avoid using terms interchangeably.
  • Don’t create fear or paranoia. Use Banned Books Week to introduce students to their First Amendment rights in libraries and schools and how they can be proactive in protecting their rights.
  • Present learning as an opportunity for students to form opinions and discuss/debate.
  • Make learning interactive. We create trivia questions and a writing contest each year and offer challenged/banned books as prizes.

Activities

  • Want students to learn about different types of censorship? Consider using the gallery walk format. Students form groups and spend a designated amount of time at each station, reading, viewing, and listening to materials pre-selected by the school librarian. Or groups spend time at one station, becoming “experts,” and then sharing their knowledge with the others. Consider using the following topics:
    • Should companies like Google comply with requests to remove material from the Internet?
    • What are the effects of violence and suffering when displayed on the Internet, in movies, television, and video games?
    • Should schools regulate or monitor student speech on social media off campus?
  • Create an escape room or breakout box activity. Find an example here that we created and has been successful with students. Breakout boxes are an excellent way for students to actively participate in learning and work together to solve puzzles.
  • A great place to start with students who haven’t studied censorship is the Library Bill of Rights. In my experience, it sparks some interesting discussions. For example, if public libraries open their meeting spaces to groups regardless of views or beliefs, does that include hate groups? Read an article here from School Library Journal for more information.(The ALA Council then voted to rescind that change. Read more on the OIF blog.)