BBW is already widely used internet lingo, and it ainât about books.
Why are we promoting something weâre against (banning books) instead of promoting something we are FOR (the freedom to read)?
It confuses library users. Iâm sure nearly every library worker has a story about someone seeing a âbanned booksâ display and saying something to the effect of, âOh, are these all the books that the libraryâs banned?â
Books are rarely actually banned. Sometimes theyâre challenged, but most people donât even go that far when theyâre faced with paperwork to make the actual challenge. Shouldnât we, as information professionals, care about accuracy of language?
50% of book challenges happen in schools and school libraries, so why doesnât the OIF lay off âbanned books weekâ and throw some support and effort towards helping schools keep books in the hands of kids?
Oh, and also in prisons. Thatâs another place where books are actually being banned, not just challenged. Why donât we focus on helping that situation? If what we really care about is making sure people can access the books they want to access, this should be a bigger concern for the profession.
Look up images for Banned Books Week and groove on the cognitive dissonance of the imagery. If reading âbannedâ books is something to be proud of, why is so much of the imagery based in shame? And some of which is blatantly offensive, featuring images of shackles, and the ever popular âbanned book mugshotâ, which has to be one of the whitest and most offensive things Iâve ever seen. Mugshots arenât a cutesy pinterest friendly promotional tool, yâall. Jesus. Do you have people of color in your community? Are you aware that âAfrican Americans are incarcerated at more than 5 times the rate of whitesâ for shit that is just about as dumb as reading a banned book? Have you ever considered how these mugshots might impact people in your community who are affected by incarceration? COME ON NOW.
8. Itâs divisive rather than inclusive, promoting an âus against themâ mentality.
Consider this my perpetual treatise on banned books week. So long and thanks for all the misplaced effort.
reasons I despise banned books week BBW is already widely used internet lingo, and it ain't about books. Why are we promoting something we'reâŚ