[Libs-Or] September 2019 Tuesday Topic - Banned Books Week

[Lori Moore]

Oregon Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee

Tuesday Topic, September 2019


Welcome to Tuesday Topics, a monthly series covering topics with
intellectual freedom implications for libraries of all types. Each message
is prepared by a member of OLA's Intellectual Freedom Committee or a guest
writer. Questions can be directed to the author of the topic or to the IFC
committee.



Banned Books Week is September 22-28, 2019

The theme for Banned Books Week this year is: Censorship Leaves Us in the
Dark: Keep the Light On. That’s what reading and access to information do,
they turn the light on!

Inhibiting access by banning books leaves people out. Currently, one group
that is being pushed into the dark is the LGBTQ community. More than half
of the challenges on ALA’s list of most challenged books of 2018
<http://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10> were
for LGBTQ content. Here are a few pertinent articles to that point:

Banned Books Week 2019
<https://bannedbooksweek.org/banned-books-week-2019-censorship-leaves-us-in-the-dark/>

ALA <https://www.oif.ala.org/oif/?p=14620> - Intellectual Freedom Blog:
Defend Pride at Your Library

National Coalition Against Censorship
<https://ncac.org/resource/lgbtq-book-bans-and-challenges>  - LGBTQ Book
Bans and Challenges

Diminishing the stories of LGBTQ people has serious consequences. Suicide
is a leading cause of death for young people overall but is especially high
among LGBTQ youth
<https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/preventing-suicide/facts-about-suicide/>.
LGBTQ people still face violence for being themselves and Trans people are
especially vulnerable
<https://www.hrc.org/resources/violence-against-the-transgender-community-in-2019>.
Will having a variety of items by, about, and for LGBTQ people solve all
these problems? Maybe not entirely. But they can (and do!
<https://www.vox.com/identities/2016/12/5/13834432/lgbtq-representation-media-supergirl>)
go a long way in providing people with representation, acceptance, and with
depictions of the human beings that they are.

Continue to shine your light by providing access to all kinds of books and
materials for all kinds of people and by educating patrons about why that
is so important. That’s what banned books week is all about!

Remember, Oregon libraries can report intellectual freedom issues and get
support: The Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse
<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/oifc>(OIFC) collects
<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/c.php?g=843530&p=6029014> and compiles
<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/c.php?g=843530&p=6029009> information
about intellectual freedom issues at libraries in Oregon. The OIFC also
provides information to libraries to help them prepare
<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/c.php?g=843530&p=6029011> for and address
<https://libguides.osl.state.or.us/c.php?g=843530&p=6029012> intellectual
freedom issues. Find additional resources to deal with challenges and
develop robust policies at the Intellectual Freedom Committee's toolkit page
<https://www.olaweb.org/if-toolkit>.



Lori Moore
OLA Intellectual Freedom Committee Member
Multnomah County Library
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