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Okotoks library defends freedom to read

Wrapped in brown paper, about 30 books are currently on display at the Okotoks Public Library (OPL) to promote “Freedom to Read Week 2011”, Feb. 20-26.

Wrapped in brown paper, about 30 books are currently on display at the Okotoks Public Library (OPL) to promote “Freedom to Read Week 2011”, Feb. 20-26.

These challenged books have either been removed or requested for removal from public libraries, schools and bookstores across Canada within recent years. Books include “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone”, “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets”, “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J.K. Rowling, “Snow Falling on Cedars” by David Guterson, and “Of Mice and Men” by John Steinbeck. These are just a few of the more than 100 titles that have had attempts made by individuals and organizations to be censored, sometimes successfully.

Freedom to Read Week is an annual event that encourages Canadians to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom, which is guaranteed to them under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In a recent lively discussion on censorship by the library’s Teen Advisory Group (TAG), these 13 to 18 year olds commented, “Nobody should have the right to tell us how we think. We need to be able to make out own decisions about the things in these books, and how are we supposed to understand the classics if we can’t read them the way they were written?”

Within each displayed book at the library is an information sheet explaining why the book was challenged and the outcome, if known, of the attempted censorship. Explained the Canadian Freedom of Expression committee, “A book or magazine with a controversial reputation can be quietly dropped from reading lists and curricula. This interference can be most insidious — quiet acquiescence to the scare tactics that would-be censors know how to employ.”

To fight censorship in all its forms is why the OPL annually participates in Freedom to Read week. To show their support, the Friends of the Okotoks Public Library is hosting a one-day used book sale on Thursday, Feb. 24. For only $3, a bag can be filled with titles to take home.

Finally, OPL is looking for Book Club members willing to share their book reviews with other library members. Reviews will be posted on the library’s website under Readers' Links. Email submissions to assistant librarian Caleigh Haworth at [email protected]. The library reserves the right to edit submissions for length, size, clarity or content.

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