Read a banned book!

Librarians have long been among my heroes, from the county librarian who winked when I checked out large armloads of everything I could find in the summertime and forgave my overdue fees, to the librarians who stood up against the Bush government’s internal spying.

National Public Radio did a nice feature this morning on the banning of The Grapes of Wrath in conjunction with the release tomorrow of Rick Watrzman’s book Obscene in the Extreme (Public Affairs Books). Here is Judith Krug of the American Library Association:

Sept. 29 marks the beginning of the American Library Association’s annual “Banned Books Week,” a commemoration of all the books that have ever been removed from library shelves and classrooms. Politics, religion, sex, witchcraft — people give a lot of reasons for wanting to ban books, says Judith Krug of the ALA, but most often the bannings are about fear.

“They’re not afraid of the book; they’re afraid of the ideas,” says Krug. “The materials that are challenged and banned say something about the human condition.”

…

Still, says Krug, the censorship of The Grapes Of Wrath was a key event in the creation of the Library Bill of Rights, the statement Krug describes as ensuring that “as American citizens we have the right to access whatever information we wish without anyone looking over our shoulders. … that we have the right to utilize this information once we have acquired it.”

Here is the ALA’s banned books page, which has links to the most challenged book list and suggested Banned Books Week Activities, including ReadOuts.

And yes, it’s true that Sarah Palin inquired of the Wasilla, Alaska librarian about banning books, a fact that disqualifies her from high office in my book. But books have been challenged by many earnest but dare I say naïve people for what might seem like perfectly legitimate reasons, the most obvious example being Huckleberry Finn, which continues on the most challenged list for racism, though the theme of the book is anti-slavery.

Here is the ALA’s list of the most frequently challenged books of 2007:

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson/Peter Parnell
Reasons: Anti-Ethnic, Sexism, Homosexuality, Anti-Family, Religious Viewpoint, Unsuited to Age Group

2. The Chocolate War, by Robert Cormier
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Violence

3. Olive’s Ocean, by Kevin Henkes
Reasons: Sexually Explicit and Offensive Language

4. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman
Reasons: Religious Viewpoint

5. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain
Reasons: Racism

6. The Color Purple, by Alice Walker
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language,

7. TTYL, by Lauren Myracle
Reasons: Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

8. I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, by Maya Angelou
Reasons: Sexually Explicit

9. It’s Perfectly Normal, by Robie Harris
Reasons: Sex Education, Sexually Explicit

10. The Perks of Being A Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
Reasons: Homosexuality, Sexually Explicit, Offensive Language, Unsuited to Age Group

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Update on Friday: The great Lance suggests that you read Huckleberry Finn and make Sarah Palin cry. I’ll drink to that.

And the Vagabond Scholar expands the list.