Interviews with Authors Art librarian Megan Lotts recently published a new book entitled Advancing a Culture of Creativity in Libraries: Programming and Engagement. It gave us the idea to launch a new interview series about titles that Books We Read affiliates have written or are currently working on. Read the interview with Megan Lotts. Judit … Read More
I picked up Slaughterhouse Five to read a passage for the Rutgers Banned Books virtual event. Little did I know that this fun side-project would contribute to my academic papers this semester! Sometimes a good book seeps into the other areas of our lives. Much of the time, I pick up a book because it … Read More
As I was fixing up a summary of the latest library challenge in Wyoming in Hungarian for KIT, a weekly newsletter on libraries, information, and society, it dawned on me how a picture of the threatened transgender magician can tell a thousand words. The issue, which points beyond the walls of the libraries, again, reminded me … Read More
Books have been banned, challenged, censored, or even burned by organizations, schools, and parent organizations for a lot of reasons. What defines a banned or a challenged book? A banned book is one that has been removed from the shelves completely. Books that have been challenged are an attempt by a person or group to remove … Read More
Last week we celebrated Banned Books week in an event called BANNED: A Virtual Banned Books Read-Out & Discussions on the Freedom to Read at Rutgers. In my flash talk at the online event, I mentioned a library and information science-related weekly newsletter called KIT Hírlevél (Library, Information & Society News) in Hungary. The newsletter polled its readers … Read More
A children’s book shredded in public by a member of the parliament. A poster outside a bookstore warning customers of books with “homosexual propaganda dangerous to children.” A mayor demanding that a book should be removed from a library display, upon (alleged) complaints from the public. Finally, a newsletter polling librarians whether professional organizations should raise … Read More
I have always enjoyed children’s and young adult (YA) books and continue to read them even as an adult. When I became a parent, I loved reading books to my kids, sharing my favorites with them and finding new ones we could appreciate together. Once they started reading on their own, I started screening many … Read More
BANNED: A Virtual Banned Books Read-Out & Discussions on the Freedom to Read September 30, 2021 at 5:30 – 7:00 pm EST Presented by: SCARLA (The Student College, Academic, and Research Libraries Association), LISSA (Library and Information Science Student Association), and Rutgers–New Brunswick Libraries Banned Books Week, an annual event celebrating the freedom to read promoted … Read More
Banned and challenged books receive a great deal of attention from librarians, the champions of freedom of speech. Books We Read partnered with several other groups for Banned Books Week in 2020. In an introduction to banned books, we were tempted to sort them into categories based on the grounds for the ban or challenge: … Read More
This semester, I just so happen to be taking a course dedicated to young adult (YA) literature taught by Banned Books Week read-in speaker Dr. Aronson. In our class, we critically analyze books and the effect they have on a young reader. We have already read quite a few banned or challenged books. As we … Read More