All About Banned Books Week September 27 - October 4, 2008!

[alalibrary]

This week, ALA released its online video promoting Banned Books Week 2008, which stars ALA staffers Bryan Campbell and Valerie Hawkins -- which is me :)! You can see the video in a couple of places online, including:

Banned Books Week: I'd Like To Find *BLEEP*
http://alfocus.ala.org/videos/banned-books-week-id-find-bleep

and

http://

Comments

National Hogwash Week

[anonymous]

Banned Books Week is "shameless propaganda ... now institutionalized with a week of its own."

"Those who are spreading hysteria about book banning and censorship know that they are in a war, but too many of those who thoughtlessly repeat their rhetoric do not."

See who said this (not me) and more here: http://preview.tinyurl.com/sowell

Even a former ALA Councilor said: "It also highlights the thing we know about Banned Books Week that we don't talk about much--the bulk of these books are challenged by parents for being age-inappropriate for children. While I think this is still a formidable thing for librarians to deal with, it's totally different from people trying to block a book from being sold at all."

But... did you like me in the video??

[alalibrary]

Please name the ALA Councilor. And supplying your own name would be nice, as well.

No one ever said Banned Books Week was about anything else than people trying to get books removed from libraries and schools. It has never been about keeping books from being sold.

And if it wasn't such a big deal, why does it continue to happen, all over the country? To dozens of titles? And why has the same book been the target of the most challenges for two years running -- can a children's book about two male penguins raising a chick really be that offensive??

You should know that as far as a book being age-inappropriate, it is the publishers that suggest age levels/reading levels for books.

Whoever made your "quote," it is indeed a formidable thing for a book to be taken out of a library -- especially since some of those attempts succeed. And the new tactic of checking a book out of library and not returning it because you feel the library shouldn't have it is nothing less than a criminal act.

Most importantly, feel free to explain your

Re: National Hogwash Week

[alalibrary]

Oh, never mind. Should've guessed:

Thomas Sowell on Banned Books Week - BBW is "Shameless Propaganda ... Now Institutionalized With a Week of Its Own"

http://safelibraries.blogspot.com/2008/09/thomas-sowell-on-banned-books-week-bbw.html

[billie0]

These people think that by trying to minimize book banning that they will be able to further stifle free thought. If a book is banned from publication by the state, or if it is removed from a library...it is the same thing. It is censorship.