Banned Books series to begin at Hodges Library

“To Kill A Mocking Bird,” by Harper Lee. “Where’s Waldo?” by Martin Hanford. “The New Joy of Gay Sex,” by Charles Silverstein. What do all of these books have in common? They are all on the 1990 to 2000 list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books. Every year, Hodges Library, along with the American Library Association, observes a national Banned Books Week during the last week of September to celebrate intellectual freedom.

Banned Books Week was started in 1982 to emphasize all Americans’ right to freely express their opinions, no matter how unconventional they may seem. This particular year is the 25th anniversary of the observance, so Hodges Library decided to spruce up its involvement with more publicity than usual through a display in the Reference Department.

Molly Royse, associate professor and humanities coordinator, along with Laura Purcell, from the Library Outreach Department, headed up the program.

“Celebrating our freedom to read during Banned Books Week reminds us of our First Amendment rights and reinforces the important role that libraries play in supporting these rights,” Royse said.

Purcell added that the United States is lucky enough to have the freedom of libraries that offer diversity.

“I think it is a time to remember that we have a lot of freedoms in this country,” she said. “We have the freedom to browse a shelf of books and choose what we want to read from it. People elsewhere in the world are not so fortunate to have these choices, and I think it is important we not take it for granted — I very much like having the freedom to read what I want or watch what I want and not have this information chosen for me.”

Banned Books Week stresses not only officially banned books, but those challenged as well. Supporting organizations, such as the American Library Association, think that the very act of challenging a book or piece of writing in itself is detrimental to the right of American citizens’ freedom to read.

While many students think that censorship of intellectual expression is wrong, most are unaware that it happens to multiple genres. Every year, numerous books are contested, challenged and banned from libraries, public and private schools, Advanced Placement reading lists and so on. In 2005 and 2006 alone, books such as “Leaving Disneyland,” by Alexander Parsons, and “The Giver,” by Lois Lowry, have been challenged and banned.

Tennessee itself has a long history of challenging and banning books that residents and citizens deem “detrimental” to society. Of course, the most well-known Tennessee ban was that of Charles Darwin’s “The Origin of Species,” which helped catalyze the 1925 State v. John Scopes “Monkey” trial in Dayton, Tennessee.

In 1957, a Knoxville city ordinance permitted the Knoxville City Board of Review to contain any publication that it deemed “obscene.” The ordinance was targeted toward the banning of “Peyton Place,” by Grace Metalious and Ardis Cameron. Also, in 1993, John Steinbeck’s “The Grapes of Wrath” was challenged by the father of an 11th grade AP English student in Union City.

Steinbeck’s work spurred numerous challenges throughout Tennessee’s history, especially his prose in “Of Mice and Men.” In 1983, the chair of the Knoxville School Board vowed to remove all “filthy” books from area reading lists and began by challenging this novel. Then, in both 1991 and 1994, “Of Mice and Men” was challenged in Putnam County because of “profane language” and “sexual overtones.”

Margaret Casado, Hodges’ distance education librarian and strong ALA supporter, thinks that Banned Books Week is an excellent way for The University of Tennessee to fight back against those who want to subdue individual freedoms.

“We are constantly getting challenges,” Casado said. “Here at Hodges, we are academic, and everyone believes in the freedom of knowledge and intellectual activity. But some people just take books and never bring them back. If they disagree with our having material, they just steal it, especially books supporting marijuana use. So we fight back by promoting the Banned Books Week.”

For students who want to become more involved, the Banned Books Week display is on the first floor of Hodges Library in the Reference Department. Students can also check out Hodges’ banned books Web site at http://www.lib.utk.edu/refs/hottopics/.