The Cardinal

Banned Book Display in Library Included Bible

Sinclair Hucke
Staff Writer

Often when students enter Norwood Cole Library on campus, they are looking for books to finish research for a project, ace a test, or do some light reading. What students don’t know is that there are many people fighting on behalf of them for the right to keep these books on bookshelves. The last week of September each year, is deemed “Banned Books Week” by The American Library Association and has been since 1982. Libraries across the United States create displays to educate people about the censorship of books and their freedom to read during this week, including the library here on campus.
The censorship display was located in the front of the Norwood Cole library and included two rows of bookshelves. Books that have been banned in numerous countries throughout time, sat alongside quotes about censorship. The books included classics such as Huckleberry Finn, Tom Sawyer and Catcher in the Rye. The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, and The Wizard of Oz, right alongside The Bible, The Holy Qur’an and 1984.
In America most of the controversy surrounding The Bible regards its place in school libraries. This debate is the result of separation of church and state. The Bible has been banned in many countries including Russia and Singapore. In Saudi Arabia, distributing The Bible is outlawed as well. Signs can be seen in airports warning those with non-approved religious books to surrender them to customs immediately.
Among the banned books in the display were three children’s books, one titled Daddy’s Roommate about a little boy whose father is gay. Daddy’s Roommate explains the relationship between a little boy’s father and his roommate Frank, eventually stating that they are gay; “My Mommy and Daddy got a divorce last year. Daddy and his roommate Frank live together.”
Andy Schmokel, a student here at SVC, said that he was most surprised by the banned children’s books and Harry Potter when he viewed the display. “People are afraid of something that’s uncomfortable,” he said.
“Banned Books Week” gives us a chance to observe one’s freedom to read a publication or express an opinion that may be unorthodox or uncomfortable.
Schools are a very common place for banning books to occur. It’s easier to ban books within a school system than on a larger scale, such as a city. Voices speaking against a piece of literature deeming it inappropriate may not be challenged in a small setting such as a school. If an opposite view does come forward, usually the majority will win. Most books are banned in schools because of profanity, sexuality or violence in their content.
“You have the right to knowledge,” said Susan Kent, a reference librarian at Norwood Cole. She believes that censorship is an obstacle to education because it affects students’ ability to choose their own resources. Where some books are banned in schools, some books aren’t even ordered, for fear of a negative reaction. There are claims that this is a quiet form of censorship which is not always observed. “Knowledge is power,” said Schmokel. “By banning books you are hindering knowledge.”