Burning Books? Been There, Done That.

You read the title correctly. I have burned books. I would do it again, despite getting a snoot full of smoke because I didn't move quickly enough when the wind changed direction.

Some of my handy work.

I know what you're thinking: "But wait, Jessica, didn't you post not just once but twice last week about Banned Books Week?" And the answer to that is much the same as my answer to your assumed question about the title of the blog post: Yes. I have written about Banned Books Week. I would do it again, despite the flames I encountered in a comment I ended up deleting.

The thing is, these two activities aren't actually mutually exclusive. It's all about intent. I burned the books to create a display for my library in honor of Banned Books Week. I burned the books to get attention for the display, and the display was for educational purposes. I burned the books, created the display, and then didn't think beyond that. I had a busy week last week, so I didn't really have time.

Then the unexpected happened: people got offended. They wanted to know how I could do such a thing. Burning books is BAD, after all.

Do I care that people got offended? No, not really. The truth is that the books in question had been offered up in multiple Friends of the Library book sales and had been passed over every time. Besides, a couple of them smelled like my grandfather's basement. They were on their way to the recycling dumpster when I gave them one last chance to be useful, to impart knowledge one more time. Would I burn books for the same reason again? Well, I hate to repeat display ideas, but if I'm ever at another library and need an idea for a Banned Books Week display... Heck, yeah, I'd do it again.

So, no, I don't care that people got offended. On the other hand, I do care that there was a difference in perception. That's why I want to write about burning books in my blog, so I can clear up that misunderstanding. I know my scribblings are read more widely, but this blog is geared towards new professionals and library science graduate students. I have admitted before that I'm trying to influence the kind of librarians you will be in the future, and I'm consciously trying to influence you with this post. So let me be completely clear about how I feel about books:

Personally? I love books. Love them to pieces. I'm a bibliophile of the first order. I love the smell of old books, the soft *crack* when you open a new hardcover book for the first time, and the rustle of pages turning. I grieve when someone tells me they don't like to read, because reading is such a huge part of my life.

Professionally? I'm a librarian, not a curator of a collection of books. Books are just one (sometimes small) part of what I do for a living. Further, being a librarian means I get rid of books sometimes. I get rid of books that are duplicates or inaccurate or damaged or smelly. I get rid of books to make space, to improve the look of the collection, and to make sure I have up-to-date information. I get rid of books that were donated to the library but for which the library has no use.

I get rid of them, most times without the slightest regret, because books are NOT sacred objects. They are just objects.

On the other hand, information (and access thereto), education, and learning ARE sacred. Educating my community about the need to value access to information is why I burned those books, and why I would do it again.

Thoughts?

Banned Books Week, Part Two - My Favorites

I have a confession to make: I don't seek out books that I know have been challenged or banned or removed from the shelves of a library. I feel like that's how it should go, but for me the process always seems to happen in the opposite direction: I read and love a book, then find out that someone has challenged/removed/etc. the book.

Now that I've got that off my chest, here are some of my favorite books that fall into this category:

And Tango Makes Three by written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole.

Cover Art

This is a true story about the time a zookeeper decided to give a spare egg from a boy/girl pair to a boy/boy pair of penguins. They hatched the egg. Everyone was happy at the end of the day - the boy/girl pair, the boy/boy pair, and the penguin chick. The illustrations are vaguely anthropomorphic: enough to make them super cute, but without making the animals cartoonish. Bonus points go to this book because it takes place in one of my favorite zoos of all time.

So why is it challenged? Detractors claim that the story supports same-sex marriage, and those puny brains think same-sex marriage is bad. Never mind that And Tango Makes Three is a true story, and never mind that the events portrayed in the book had been covered extensively in the press prior to the book being published. Those penguins are sinners.

In the Night Kitchen, written and illustrated by Maurice Sendak.

Cover Art

A little boy falls asleep and dreams/fantasizes about helping three very fat bakers with their batter. Sendak is one of my favorite illustrators, and his pictures in this book do not disappoint.

So why is it challenged? NUDITY! The little boy's PENIS is shown a couple of times! HOW DARE SENDAK?! (Shown below in all its offensiveness.)

Look away if you're easily offended.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie.

Cover Art

The protagonist decides to go to a high school off of the reservation where he lives with his family, and attends a school that is mostly white. Partly as a result of this decision, he has some troubles both on the reservation and at the school, but in true coming-of-age-story form, he survives and is better for all his experiences. (Words alone cannot describe how much I loved this book, but that's not what I'm writing about today.)

So why was it challenged? Because the protagonist thinks and acts and talks like a teenage boy. Here's the passage that gets most people riled up:

"Yep, that's right, I admit that I masturbate. I'm proud of it. I'm good at it. I'm ambidextrous. If there were a Professional Masturbation League, I'd get drafted number one and make millions of dollars. And maybe you're thinking, 'Well, you really shouldn't be talking about masturbation in public.' Well, tough, I'm going to talk about it because EVERYBODY does it. And EVERYBODY likes it. And if God hadn't wanted us to masturbate, then God wouldn't have given us thumbs. So I thank God for my thumbs."

It's that honesty that endeared this National Book Award Winner to me, but honesty is too much for some people I guess.

So how about you? What is your favorite frequently challenged book? And if you know, share why it has been challenged in the past?

Banned Books Week Part One - The Read Out

In case you haven't caught on to the fact from tons of related posts on every social network under the sun, it's Banned Books Week. From the ALA website:

"Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information. Banned Books Week brings together the entire book community –- librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types –- in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular."

At my college, that celebration takes the form of a Read Out. I pick some campus space outside of the library, bring a bunch of books and some snacks, let the community know where I'm going to be and what I'll have with me, and then sit back. We take turns reading passages from our favorite challenged and banned books, and discussing why they were challenged and/or banned. I always have food available - in prior years it was cookies and cider, but this year we're holding the event during lunch at the dining hall. I always have a bit of swag - usually buttons. That's it.

The first time I did this, I wasn't sure how it would go. Would people even come? It's an academic/intellectual topic, after all. I wondered if students would care. I needn't have worried, though. Students did show up, and they show up every year. It's not as well-attended as some of the other events I run, but it attracts a decent group consistently. Makes me so proud of my community, especially considering this year marks the 4th anniversary of the first Read Out.

So, what are you doing at your library and/or with your community for Banned Books Week?