READERGIRLZ ROAR FOR BANNED BOOKS WEEK

Adult/Teen Librarian Danielle Dreger-Babbitt from Mill Creek Library WA is here to Roar with readergirlz for Banned Books Week
Welcome Danielle.

Tell us about Banned Books Week
Banned Book Week was started 32 years ago to celebrate the freedom to read after more and more books were being challenged in libraries and schools. According to the American Librarian Association, over 11,000 books have been challenged since 1982. Over 200 of them happened in 2013! You can learn more about Banned Book Week on the ALA website.

What do you do to spread the word about Banned Books Week and Intellectual Freedom Issues?
I do a banned book display each year.  My favorite displays are the ones I did in 2011 when library patrons wrote about their favorite banned books and the 2012 display that took up a whole shelving unit. I love being able to showcase these banned and challenged books.

 

Along with each year’s display, I include Banned Book lists and pamphlets as well as bookmarks and buttons for library customers to take home. We’ve had essay contests where readers write about their favorite challenged or banned books and win copies of banned books. When I visit the middle schools to talk about books in the fall I often bring along books that have been challenged from other parts of the country and have the students guess why they might be banned or challenged.

Readers Roar: (Let’s hear what teens have to say about banned books)

“If people read the books before they banned them, they might have a better understanding of why the book is important. If you ban a book, it only makes me want to read it more.”- Jessica, Grade 11

 

Any Banned Books you would like to highlight?
Some of my favorite banned and challenged books include Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, Shine and TTYL by Lauren Myracle, and 13 Reasons Why by Jay Asher.  And my absolute favorite banned/ challenged book is Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. Most teens are amazed to hear that it has been taken out of some schools and libraries!

What can readergirlz do to celebrate Banned Books Week?
Check out the activities on the BannedBooksSite . Readergirlz can celebrate their freedom to read by reading one or two banned or challenged books during Banned Book Week. Bonus points for reading these all year long, not just in September and for sharing these titles with their friends and family.

 

More ideas from readergirlz diva Janet Lee Carey: Grab your favorite Banned Book and RIP = Read in Public. Do a selfie while reading your favorite banned book and post it on your favorite social networks. Use twitter hashtag #BannedBooksWeek and @readergirlz when you post on twitter.

Use the site Support Banned Books Week  to add a temporary banner below your profile photo. Divas Janet Lee Carey and Justina Chen's photos:  

 

ONE LAST BIG ROAR from guest poster, Danielle
The best way to support libraries is to use them! Check out books and DVDs and CDs, use the databases to find information, and attend as many library programs and events as your schedule allows. By doing these, you are showing us that you think libraries are important. There are many ways to give back to your library. Consider becoming a volunteer or join the library board or Friend’s Group.  Teens can join the library’s Teen Advisory Board and help make decisions about future library programs and purchases. You can also donate books to the library for the Friends of Library Book Sale. The money from these sales supports library programs and special events!

About Danielle Dreger-Babbitt
I’ve been a teen librarian for over 10 years and have worked in libraries in Massachusetts and Washington. I’ve been an Adult/ Teen Librarian at the Mill Creek Library for over 5 ½ years. I’ve been active in ALA’s YALSA   (Young Adult Library Services Association) for the last decade and have served on committees including Outreach to Teens With Special Needs, The Schneider Family Book Award, and most recently The Alex Awards, for which I was the 2014 committee chair.

In my spare time I write for children and teens. I love to read YA and MG fiction and cooking memoirs/ cookbooks. I own two cats and two badly behaved (but adorable) dogs. I also love to travel and recently visited Uruguay, Brazil, and Argentina.

Let’s Link:
Sno-Isle Teen Blog 

Thanks again for the terrific Banned Books post for readergirlz, Danielle!

Banned Books Week 2012

Happy Banned Books Week! Let's celebrate intellectual freedom! From the Banned Books Week website:

Banned Books Week is the national book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read. Hundreds of libraries and bookstores around the country draw attention to the problem of censorship by mounting displays of challenged books and hosting a variety of events. The 2012 celebration of Banned Books Week will be held from September 30 through October 6. Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in schools, bookstores and libraries. More than 11,300 books have been challenged since 1982. [...] According to the American Library Association, there were 326 challenges reported to the Office of Intellectual Freedom in 2011, and many more go unreported.

For example: To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee was #10 on the list of most challenged titles of 2011. The Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins was #3. For example: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Charlotte's Web, and Winnie-the-Pooh have all been challenged or banned because they include animal characters that use human language. In honor of Banned Books Week's 30th anniversary, ALA has created a timeline of significant banned and challenged books. Attention booksellers and librarians: Get your camcorders ready so that you and your patrons/students can participate in this year's Virtual Read-Out! Learn more about it here and here.

Related Posts at my blog, Bildungsroman:
I Read Banned Books: Celebrating Intellectual Freedom and Literacy
They Tried to Ban This Book Today, or, There's a Sticker on the Cover of This Book - inspired by the challenge of Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
The Bermudez Triangle by Maureen Johnson: Too Cool for School?

Banned Books Week and the Virtual Read-Out

It's that time of year again... Happy Banned Books Week!

The publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers is holding a Virtual Read-Out at www.bannedbooksweek.org People of all ages are encouraged to create a video of themselves reading from their favorite banned or challenged book and upload it to a special YouTube Channel for Banned Books Week. Authors and other celebrities are submitting videos as well. You'll recognize many folks whose works have been recognized and recommended by readergirlz, including Laini Taylor, Sarah Dessen, Lauren Myracle, Jay Asher, and Judy Blume.

We hope you'll submit your video! If you do, please leave a comment with a link to your video.

What are your favorite banned or challenged books? Let us know in the comments below!

Drop a Banned Book on Thursday!

The latest list of banned books is out from ALA, and it includes all of the titles pictured below. Why not put one out in the world on Thursday for Rock the Drop and make a statement against book banning...

Banned Books Week: i heart daily

Does everyone know our beloved i heart daily? Diva Melissa Walker and Anne Ichikawa send fabulous daily newsletters about heartable things in style and entertainment, as well as beauty and news. Check the website out if you haven't.

Today they posted about Banned Books Week. They call for you to "put on our civil liberties hat" and pick up a banned book.

"Here are the The Top Ten Most Frequently Challenged Books of 2009 from the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF). The list includes some books about a vampire, a wereworld and some girl. Maybe you've read them."

Thanks, Anne and Melissa! We heart you and banned books daily!