The library that I work for subscribes to the Intellectual Freedom Newsletter. It is published by the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee.
The particular issue that I was looking at this week is from the January 2011 edition. The first article was titled, "Increase Reported in Canadian Library Book Challenge." The article speaks about challenges from 2006-2009 that were reported in public libraries. An annual survey is conducted by the Canadian Library Association Advisory Committee on Intellectual Freedom. In 2006, there were 31 challenge reports. In 2009, there were 139 challenge reports!
The article mentions that the most challenged author reported in Canadian libraries, in 2009, was Charlaine Harris. The picture book, "And Tango Makes Three" has been on the challenge list every year since 2006. I think it is interesting that a picture book has been on the challenge list for three consecutive years!
The article also mentions the reason that the number of challenged books increased was because entire series of novels were being challenged instead of single books. I think that this is a valid reason for the number of increasing challenged books over the years. One of the series that was mentioned was Cecily von Ziegesar’s “Gossip Girl,” which includes 15 titles.
I think that 139 reported challenges is a very low number. I think that there are a lot of challenges that are not serious enough to be reported, or they are settled prior to needing to report the challenge.
ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee, Initials. (2011). Increase reported in a Canadian library book challenges. Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom, 1, 1-36.
I love Charlaine Harris! I can't imagine why her books would be challenged. She writes adult fiction and yes, there are sex scenes and vampires, but there are certainly worse books out there. Did the article mention the reasons?
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis is the same as the post I removed, minus a spelling error. Sorry, I couldn't figure out how to edit it!
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it has to do with True Blood. I agree, I read the first book in her series, and the sex scene was very tame. The tv show based on it though was anything but. Laurell K. Hamilton writes sex scenes a thousand times more disturbing, and a lot of mystery writers write rape scenes that I can't read. Charlaine Harris? Not so much. I think the people who pick them up to read some of the raunchiness they expect from the show are probably really disappointed.
Marlene, did this article mention whether this was school libraries, public libraries, or both?
Marlene, I cannot make a comment about how low or high the numbers of challenged books are. However, in my opinion, an increase from 31 to 139 (from 2006 to 2009) is a big enough difference to raise a concern about the intellectual freedom rights. From the article you have provided, it seems that the Canadian libraries, as reported by Canadian Library Association Advisory Committee on Intellectual Freedom face similar issues as the libraries in the United States. When searching for more information about the censorship in Canada, I found another interesting fact – “censorship quiet version”, as it is explained by Ms. Workman: "Censorship is evident in our own libraries, albeit in a quieter way," admits Ms Workman. "Occasionally books disappear, words are crossed out or pages are removed, we are asked to remove a book from the shelves or restrict what some patrons view on public access terminals."
ReplyDelete"Library promotes banned books." SouthshoreNow, CA. Nova Scotia's South Shore Newspapers.
22 May 2011 .
@Carri
ReplyDeleteIt's true... I tried to watch TrueBlood because I loved the books, but I couldn't make it past the first season! Talk about pornography on television! Yes, the books are very tame in comparison.