Happy Banned Book Week! Banned Book Week was established by the American Library Association (ALA) in 1982 to honor the numerous books that were subject to challenges and bans. Little did the ALA know, decades later the number of book bans would explode to numbers never before seen (or even imagined in the Land of the Free). The ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) tracked an obscene 4, 240 different books that were challenged or outright banned.[1]
Here at QPL, we promote and support a literate community, and part of literacy is fostering a love of reading. We support diverse voices, the freedom of writers to write what they want, and the freedom you, our readers and patrons, enjoy in choosing what you want to read. It is vitally important that everyone is free to choose what they read. You know the books that you love the most are the ones that resonate with you, that reach down to the core of who you are and leave you thinking “I get that!” But when we read a book with diverse stories and characters, it opens our minds and gives us insight we would otherwise lack and builds empathy and compassion for others’ plights and perspectives—so much that we quickly realize that the “others” aren’t so different after all—that when it comes right down to it, though, we are all unique individuals, we all equally value mutual respect. Reading banned books gives us access to the perspectives some people don’t want us to see or understand, builds the empathy some don’t want us to have, and fosters the thinking that makes us difficult to control.
Banning books is an attempt, under the guise of the books’ moral ineptitude, to shut down the conversations we could—and should—be holding as a society. It prevents people from having to think and talk about things that make them uncomfortable. It shuts down diverse stories and experiences, and it robs you, as readers, of your right to make your own choices.
As many of you know, QPL has offered a special Take & Make craft this week only to honor Banned Book Week: A Mini Banned Book Library! This craft was so incredibly popular we ran out of kits in only one day, and we have to say we are proud to be your library, knowing how strongly our community feels about intellectual freedom and the right to read! This little library may not be full of banned books you can actually read, but it represents something far greater than physical books: it represents the multitudes of us that stand up and say “no more,” it represents all the beautiful diversity in the world, and it represents all the conversations that may make us uncomfortable but are, nevertheless, important to have.
The mini library kit included an instruction packet, a design packet, a small piece of carboard, a mini plant, and an Altoids tin. Both packets can be accessed right here from this post, so all you need to acquire is a little bit of cardboard and an Altoids tin! The plant is a bonus!
The files are too large to attach to this post, so follow the link to download the instruction and design packets from Dropbox absolutely free! https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fo/1my8u4f7iazzr52iu8itx/APEvk-xejIJoowClqyu_tzU?rlkey=4jtqn37abzx3wp1vu74fhut9s&st=qwe79wew&dl=0 If you don't want to set up a Dropbox account, click below the sign-in box to download straight away, print, and you're ready to start crafting!
Thank you for standing up for intellectual freedom and the right to read.
Happy crafting!
[1] "Banned Books Week", American Library Association, December 11, 2012
https://www.ala.org/bbooks/banned (Accessed September 26, 2024)
Document ID: 4e693d4e-0939-462c-ad12-d841c0db04b4