Skeptical Thoughts on Banned Books Week

Several other conservative librarian bloggers have had some interesting things to say about Banned Books Week. As someone who supports the ideas behind BBW, I don't agree with all the criticisms they express. Still, they make some arguments well worth considering.

In particular, they express my main source of frustration with ALA's approach to BBW: the obsession with local challenges to books when we live in a world where authors and intellectuals are regularly murdered or imprisoned. There are far worse threats to intellectual freedom out there than parents who don't want their kids to read Heather Has Two Mommies. Just ask Theo Van Gogh.

Anyway, here's a brief roundup, for your reading pleasure:

-Jack Stephens points out a bit of hypocrisy on the part of American Libraries and Library Journal.

-Greg McClay makes the case that "Banned Books Week is the Halloween of American libraries".

-The always provocative and entertaining Annoyed Librarian has been in exceptional form this week. First, she offers a lengthy fisking of ALA's Banned Books Week Proclamation. Then, she takes up the issue of challenges to children's books.