Essay on Notes for Censorship of Books

Essay on Notes for Censorship of Books Essay on Notes for Censorship of Books Note card one Source Title: About banned & challenged books Author(s): ALA How to find: ala.org/bbooks/about Author's Words (quotes, statistics)... "Books usually are challenged with the best intentions- to protect others, frequently children, from difficult ideas and information..." "Often challenges are motivated by a desire to protect children from â€Å"inappropriate† sexual content or â€Å"offensive† language..." "In his book Free Speech for Me- But Not for Thee: How the American Left and Right Relentlessly Censor Each Other, Nat Hentoff writes that â€Å"the lust to suppress can come from any direction.† He quotes Phil Kerby, a former editor of the Los Angeles Times, as saying, â€Å"Censorship is the strongest drive in human nature; sex is a weak second.†..." My words: The difference between challenging a book and banning it is that a challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, while banning a book is the removal of those materials. Most books are usually challenged with the thought of good intentions. The top three reasons for challenging a book are: 1.) The material was considered to be "sexually explicit" 2.) The material contained "offensive language" 3.) The material was "unsuited to any age group" Note card two: Source Title: About banned & challenged books Author(s): ALA How to find: ala.org/bbooks/about Author's Words... "If there is a bedrock principle underlying the First Amendment, it is that the government may not prohibit the expression of an idea simply because society finds the idea itself offensive or disagreeable..." "Restriction of free thought and free speech is the most dangerous of all subversions. It is the one un-American act that could most easily defeat us..." My words: Throughout the years, many more and different kinds of people and groups of all persuasions who have attempted-and continue to attempt-to challenge books that disagree with their own beliefs. Note card three: Source Title: First Amendment Site Author(s): Lehigh University How to find: lehigh.edu/~infirst/bookcensorship.html Author's Words... "Censorship is when a person or group successfully imposes their values upon others by stifling words, images or ideas and preventing them from reaching the public marketplace of ideas..." "Books are challenged or censored in cities and towns all over the country for a multitude of reasons..." My words: Book censorship has been noted as early as 399 B.C., when Socrates was sentenced to drink poison for corrupting his students. Challenges are not just and individual expressing a point of view or even complaining about the content of a book. Instead, challenges are an effort to remove that book from the school's curriculum of library. Note card four: Source Title: First Amendment Site Author(s): Lehigh University How to find: lehigh.edu/~infirst/bookcensorship.html Author's words... "Powerful institutions may support censorship the Catholic Church compiled lists of banned books since 1559, and only stopped the practice in 1966..." "Books involving sexual relations, especially homosexual relationships, are often targeted..." "A contemporary favorite was challenged in Arkansas because it depicted witchcraft..." My words: Most books involving sexual relations, especially homosexuality, are most often targeted. A 1995 federal court case involved with the Olathe, Kansas, school board voted to remove the book "Annie on My Mind," (Nancy Garden, July 1982) from school libraries because the book illustrates a lesbian relationship between two teenagers. Note Card five: Source Title: Frequently challenged books of the 21st century Author(s): ALA How to find: ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10 Author's words... "Each year, the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF)