Today marks the beginning of Banned Books Week, an annual observance that draws attention to books that have been challenged or banned and asks an important question: Who gets to decide what other people read?
This year’s theme, “Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read,” highlights the importance of access to information in our lives.
Access does not mean endorsement. Having a book in a library’s collection does not mean that everyone has to agree with the ideas it contains. Instead, libraries provide access to a wide range of information and perspectives so that individuals can read and make judgments for themselves.
Banned Books Week began in 1982 in response to a surge in challenges to books in schools, bookstores, and libraries. More than four decades later, attempts to restrict access to books continue.
It is also helpful to distinguish between a book challenge and a book ban.
- A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict access to a book or other material.
- A ban occurs when that material is actually removed as a result of a challenge.
Objecting to a book is very different from restricting someone else’s access to it.
Libraries and archives often talk about this in terms of intellectual freedom: the right of individuals to seek and receive information and ideas representing different points of view without restriction. Intellectual freedom is a core principle reflected in the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights.
Intellectual freedom does not require us to agree with every book in a library. It means allowing people to encounter ideas, consider them critically, and make those judgments for themselves.
Uncle Tom's Cabin
Recently, two UWSP Library staff members gave a presentation to a student group about banned and challenged books. One of the historical examples we discussed is especially interesting because the Archives owns a book directly connected to its story.
Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin in 1852. The novel, which depicted the brutality and human consequences of slavery, became one of the bestselling books of the 19th century. It also generated intense opposition, particularly in the slaveholding South, where efforts were made to suppress its circulation and booksellers could face serious consequences for distributing it. Critics also accused Stowe of exaggerating or inventing her portrayal of slavery. Her response was another book.
In 1853, Stowe published A Key to Uncle Tom’s Cabin, providing sources, documentation, and evidence intended to demonstrate that the conditions portrayed in her novel were grounded in actual accounts and records.
The two books offer a fascinating historical example of censorship and the struggle over who gets to tell a story, and who gets to read it. More than 170 years later, the underlying question remains relevant: Who gets to decide what other people read?
Explore Banned Books at the Library
Throughout Banned Books Week, Oct. 4-10, we have two displays where you can browse books that have been challenged recently as well as classic titles that have faced challenges over many years.
One display is in the Instructional Materials Center (IMC) area and features challenged young adult, children’s, and picture books. The books are available to browse and check out. Our other display, located on the second floor near our leisure reading collection, includes recently challenged books as well as classic titles that have faced challenges over the years.
One of the simplest ways to observe Banned Books Week is also one of the most important: read a challenged book.
Rather than relying on someone else’s description, read it yourself. Learn why it was challenged and consider the ideas for yourself.
Let Books Be. Protect the Freedom to Read.