Banned Books Essay

Banned books are becoming more current in this day of time. People often do not understand the challenge of books or why a book is being banned. Ken Petrilli, the author of â€Å"Banned Books Week: Celebrating You (and Celebrating Your (and Your Teens! ) Freedom to Read† in the Young Adult Library Services summer of 2009, talks about how he understand, how the parents feel about some books being banned. He also advised ways to make displays for banned books week. Petrilli is a teen service librarian, a musician, and serves on the YALSA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee. â€Å"To Read or Not to Read: Understanding Book Censorship† by Deborah Connelly, was published in the Community and Junior College Libraries in the year of 2009. In Connelly’s article, she wants people to know what book censorship means and how librarians deal with people who want to challenge books. In both articles each writer gives a description of why books are banned. Petrilli’s article has less information but his credibility comes from his services as being a librarian and serving on the YALSA’s Intellectual Freedom Committee. Connelly’s article has more information but nowhere in her article is her credibility. However, by analyzing both of the articles neither Petrilli nor Connelly’s articles are scholarly. In the article Ken Petrilli’s â€Å"Banned Books Week Celebrating You (and Your Teens! ) Freedom to Read† article is to be read by young adult and their parents, and other librarians. Young adults often wonder why their parents or other groups will not allow them to read certain types of books. He state, â€Å"As teen and young adult librarian; we are on the frontline of intellectual freedom issues more than anyone else in our profession. †(Petrilli 4) While on the other hand parents do not agree with the materials and content that is in the book that their young adult reads. Where he states â€Å"Parents concerned about what their children are reading. This, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing: we want to see parents who are concerned! † (Petrilli 4) In Deborah Connelly’s article â€Å"To Read or Not to Read: Understanding Book Censorship†, talks about how people should have the right to read. Connelly states â€Å"While history shows that there are those that try to suppress the right to read, there are also those that have worked tirelessly to preserve it. †(Connelly 84) In challenging and banning books many parents often ban so that their child cannot read a book with rudely contents; it should be up to the parent to make that decision for their child or young adult to read a certain book. Not to ban the book from the whole community. Connelly states â€Å"Many of these statements deal with parents being the ultimate role model and advocate in what they feel is right for their child and how to empower their child to make decisions based on their values in regards to what they read. ( ALA2008) (Connelly 86) When a book that is being Challenged mostly parents or specific groups, the books are sometimes banned because they may have seen or heard that the challenged book may have a little sexual content, profane words, or unmorally things in its context. The parents or groups who challenged these books do not fully read the materials to get the full understanding. Connelly suggests reading the books before a parent or group challenges the book because there are a couple of words that they do not agree with. Connelly states â€Å"Many times those that consider banning a book do so without examining the work. (Jocelyn Chadwick 2000)(Connelly87) According to Petrilli in his article he sympathizes with the parents who have had some parent and groups who had some books banned. He clearly states that, â€Å"I think it is important for us to remember not to overtly demonize most potential challengers. They are, after all, people just like us, and being concerned for our children’s well-being is never wrong. † (Petrilli 4) Petrilli also wants to support the Banned Books Week, by giving suggestions on how to display the library and to have discussions about banned books. He states â€Å"What I do is important and the fighting for our collections and our teen patrons is a battle. (Petrilli 5) Petrilli feels that people who challenged books because they feel as if these books with the explicit details or will corrupt the minds of their young adults. He states â€Å"This fear is often disguised as moral outrage. They want to believe that if their children don’t read about it, their children won’t know about it. And if they don’t know about it, it won’t happen. †(Petrilli 4) Connelly believes that during the challenges of banning a book, a librarian has a big role to play. First the librarian has to face the issues of day to day of book challenges and to insure they know the policy. Connelly states, â€Å"The librarian of today is still faced with controversial issues regarding politics and religious connation within books or any other materials are challenged, these policies will be on place to refer to as a bases for the selection. † (Connelly85) Connelly also believes that if the Office for Intellectual Freedom did not create a policy for the American Library Association there will be a few books that will not be banned today due to all the books that were banned years ago. People will be limited to what they can read. The freedom of reading would vanish. In her article she stated â€Å"The Freedom to read contains seven propositions, each one as important as the other. † She also states, â€Å"To truly feel the passion and thought placed behind these propositions, one must read them. †(Connelly 84) She also suggests that the librarians should know what to do when a book comes up to be challenged. The librarian has to be professional and also opened mined as well when it comes to a parent or group challenging a book or materials. Although librarians have a great deal of responsibility, Connelly states â€Å"A librarian must keep in mind the diverse patronage of their establishment and provide materials that are accessible to everyone. † (Connelly 85) Connelly also lets her readers know that if he or she are going to challenge a book then he or she should also know the guidelines. A person just cannot go a say â€Å"I want this book banned† or â€Å"Take this book off the shelf because it is inappropriate for my child or young adult to read. † There is a process the challenger has to fill out forms, have names of those who assist. Then state the reason why the book or material is being challenged. Connelly also advised her readers that there might be some legal issues in giving young adult sexually explicit materials. So the readers might want to check in their state to find out the laws about simply giving some that is not of age, sexual explicit materials. Connelly states â€Å"An Oregon law was passed that â€Å"criminalizes the dissemination of sexually explicit material to anyone under the age 13and ect. †(Connelly 86) Petrilli casually, lets his readers know that even though there is a banned books week, that there are still going to be a deal of banned books challenges. And books will be banned. Petrilli states â€Å"Never forget that potential challengers are out there and some are motivated by fervent religious or potential beliefs. † (Petrilli 5) By Petrilli being employed as a young adult and teen service librarian he has hands on experience with having books or materials challenged. In the beginning of the article Petrilli gives a brief description of what Banned Books week is. He says that, â€Å"Banned Books Week is observed the last week of September each year and it has been observed every year since 1982. †(Petrilli 4) Petrilli also lets the book challengers know that equal opportunity and access should be the readers right. It should not be because the challenger is not pleased with it. In Petrilli’s article he states â€Å"We provide equal access for anyone to whatever it is they are looking to read: and that includes the teens we works with every day. (Ptetrilli 5) Petrilli also is persuading his readers to participate in Banned Books week as a librarian Petrilli wants his readers to support this event. To Pertilli it is imperative that parents, young adults, and groups so he or she can become more comfortable with their freedom to read or to learn and understand why some books and materials are being challenged and banned from the community. Connelly wants readers to know, that librarians are not against all books being challenged. She states, â€Å"Librarians are not the only member of need to protect the Freedom to Read. †(Connelly 86) She goes on and states â€Å"Lastly, the most underused but most influential tool that librarians have in dealing with book controversy is their own voices. †(Connelly 85) Connelly also wants the challengers to maybe rethink his or her intent to challenge a book. She clearly states, â€Å"All in all, censorship is based on fear and emotions. † (Connelly87) Connelly also states â€Å"Knowledge is the key to understanding. † (Connelly87) In the article Connelly shared that there was a little stir-up about the book that was banned and removed from several libraries which was The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain. This book was said that was banned due to the content of the n used several times in the story. Connelly used this in her article for a perfect example of book banishment. She stated â€Å"†it is easy to see how this could upset people to the point of removing this book from schools. † (Connelly 86) Connelly points out to the audience, that the assistant professor at Harvard University, Jocelyn Chadwick had studied Mark Twain’s work for years. She wanted to get a full understanding of his book. Since people was upset about the book because of the n word was so offended that it never appeared to them that the book was scene was written for the time frame that Mark Twain The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was based on. It seems like Connelly agrees with Jocelyn Chadwick she quote, â€Å"There are countless resources available to the community that provide information about censorship (pro or against), litigations, organizations, and other useful materials that can assist people to make better informed decisions about questionable literature. (Connelly 87) In the two articles that have been analyzed, through the types of claim, that Petrilli is proposing that it is to the challengers and non- challengers benefit to attend a Banned Books week at his or her nearest library. Connelly suggests that before a person challenge a book read the book form beginning to end, to understand the book better to get the feeling of emotions when reading the book. Who knows the book might not be all that damaging. The rhetorical triangle of Petrilli’s article had the Emotional appeal. Connelly’s passage was that of more of and logical appeal. The writing style for Petrilli’s article was unbiased and casual. Whereas for Connelly’s writing stlye was biased where she want people to understand what book banning really is. Neither Petrilli’s nor Connelly’s articles is scholarly. There was not enough information in Petrilli’s article and there was no credibility in Connelly’s article.