Banned Books Week invites students to exercise freedom to read

Banned Books week celebrates the freedom to read by encouraging students to read banned or challenged books from Oct. 1-5.

Head Librarian Roxie Blackson and her staff have been working hard to prepare the library for the event.

“I’ve created bookmarks that have some information on the books,” Blackson said. “My assistant and TA’s have pulled a lot of the banned and challenged books that we have in the library, and they have put them out on display in the fiction section so students can come in and browse and, hopefully, choose to check one out and read it.”

Blackson enjoys many banned books herself.

“I have classic banned books that I absolutely love,” Blackson said. “I love To Kill a Mockingbird. I love Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, and those are considered classics. Pride and Prejudice is a challenged book. My contemporary literature that I love, young adult literature, The Hunger Games, is a challenged book, a banned book, and I love that book. I also love Harry Potter.”

Blackson believes Banned Books Week is important for several reasons.

“I think that we should all, very strongly, protect our freedoms in this country,” Blackson said. “And that’s one of the great things about this country, right? Our freedom of speech and our freedom to read? And I just caution people about not allowing others to dictate what they should be experiencing or have the opportunities to experience.”