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“The American Library Association Web site for Banned Books Week does not list one single book that has been banned by any government entity in the United States of America in 2006. Some books are challenged every year, usually by parents who are concerned that a particular piece of literature is not appropriate for the children or young people to whom it is being taught or made available in the library. Some of these challenges are ridiculous; others have some merit. Saying that a book is not appropriate for a particular age group or even actually removing a book from an elementary school library is not the same as ‘banning’ that book. ALA defines ‘challenged’ as an attempt to ban. . . . I attended library school and heard librarians say, with a straight face, that when they chose to not purchase Nancy Drew books or comic books, the process was called ‘selection,’ but when parents or citizens tried to voice their opinions about what should or should not be purchased by the libraries that they support with their taxes, it was ‘censorship.’ Librarians were an elite group of educated professionals who knew how to ‘select’ library materials; others were yokels who were out to keep information out of the hands of the people, book-banners.”
“Each year, the American Library Association (ALA) is asked why the week is called ‘Banned Books Week’ instead of ‘Challenged Books Week,’ since the majority of the books featured during the week are not banned, but ‘merely’ challenged. There are two reasons. One, ALA does not ‘own’ the name Banned Books Week, but is just one of several cosponsors of BBW; therefore, ALA cannot change the name without all the cosponsors agreeing to a change. Two, none want to do so, primarily because a challenge is an attempt to ban or restrict [note change of terminology] materials, based upon the objections of a person or group. A successful challenge would result in materials being banned or restricted.”
Surely we opponents of censorship can use words more carefully than this.
