ALA & The Onion

A major stakeholder in the debate over censoring books in schools is the American Library Association (ALA). The ALA was formed in Pennsylvania in 1876 and is compromised of mostly libraries and their librarians who are dedicated to, as their mission statement reads, “provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.” One of their main battles revolves around access of information – particularly in book form. Each year the ALA publishes a list of the most commonly banned or challenged books and schools and analyzes why those books are up for such question.

The ALA has also created a Library Bill of Rights, where the first amendment reads: “Books and other library resources should be provided for the interest, information, and enlightenment of all people of the community the library serves. Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation.” Obviously those who are banning/challenging books are in strict violation of this code, therefore the ALA has had a history of publicizing the most banned books and gives the “issues” that apparently are not being taught.

Recently, the ALA has been protesting the USA PATRIOT Act saying the organization “opposes any use of governmental power to suppress the free and open exchange of knowledge and information or to intimidate individuals exercising free inquiry.”

However, the most challenged book of 2006 had nothing to do with terrorists, but did have to do with same-sex parenting. The book was “And Tango Makes Three” by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson. The children’s book, about penguins, is based on the true story of Roy and Silo, two male penguins in New York's Central Park Zoo. The book describes how Tango, a baby girl penguin, was hatched and raised by Roy and Silo. The book was subsequently banned from several different school districts because of the “offensive” materials regarding same-sex parenting.

In 2000, The Onion published an article entitled “Nation’s Teens Disappointed by Banned Books.” The article said that students had formed a coalition and wrote to the ALA about the banned book list in protest that theses books were banned because, overall, they were rather “tame” then what the list makes them out to be. Yes, this article is from The Onion and The Onion is a satirical paper, but many have their articles are created with an ironic truth. The article quotes fictional students complaining that the books on the American Library Association’s really weren’t all that shocking, the reason, the article states, was because kids these days are brought up on “Cinemax and Def Comedy Jam.” There are so many other outlets that a young person could see any sort of material – much of it can be and is highly questionable. So if the banned books on the list aren’t the most shocking material young people have access to, then why are they banned?

If someone can read about some sort of occurrence, whether it is of sexual or political nature, does that solidify its existence? Is reading about something more offensive than it actually happening, or because it is written about does that mean that it could be true? If books such as Lolita are banned because of its sexual nature and pedophilia, then should newspapers be banned too? There are constantly stories about sex offenders and pedophiles. What about Dateline’s special To Catch a Predator?

Anyone could have heard about the Tango story on the news, it is where the idea came from. Is it the marketability and accessibility of a picture book to children that is so threatening? Or is it that in a school censorship can come easy? It would be hard to entirely regulate the news media to make sure that any sort of offensive story wouldn’t be seen by a young person. If that were the case, there would be no news.

So right now, all the ALA can do is publish a list of the most banned books and hopefully convey the message that these pieces of literature are not as dangerous as some may think.

http://www.theonion.com/content/node/28619

http://www.ala.org/Template.cfm?Section=News&template=/ContentManagement/ContentDisplay.cfm&ContentID=151926