The idea of making an effort at banning books is not new. The three people in the Chilliwack Board of Education have both read out-of-context sentences from books declaring they are not satisfactory for children.
Why do books get challenged?
Books are challenged or banned for a variety of reasons. Frequently, challenges seem to be motivated by a desire to protect children or young people from inappropriate language, sexual themes and violence. No matter the motivations behind them, I think all challenges to ban books come from a deeply emotional place. A person sees a book with content that runs counter to their personal belief or value system and the knee-jerk reaction is to try to make that book disappear, as if that can make the ideas contained in it disappear, too. My opinion is that I see such efforts coming more from a place of fear and control than morality.
Books can be challenged for plenty of different reasons, but the rationale usually falls into one of four categories: political, legal, religious or moral.
This is where the concept of intellectual freedom comes in. Part of Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, protects Canadians’ right to read whatever they want. This idea is central to how libraries operate.
The Canadian Library Association which states that “libraries provide, defend and promote equitable access to the widest possible variety of expressive content and resist calls for censorship.”
Simply put it’s up to libraries to make a variety of materials available for anyone to consume, even if those materials are considered unconventional, unpopular or unacceptable to some. School libraries have no choice but to follow the Charter.
Every year, Canadian libraries celebrate this idea with “Freedom to Read,” where people are encouraged to read material that has been challenged or banned. Freedom to Read Week which is typically celebrated during the last week of September, is another event that focuses on everyone’s right to read. At the very least any effort to remove, challenge or try to ban books is in fact is an infringement of students and adults rights and privileges under Canada’s Charter of Rights.
It makes no difference whether you are nine or 90 we all have the entitlement to read any book that is available
Jack Kopstein
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