The first Banned Books Week event was held at Iona hosted by the English honor society, Sigma Tau Delta on Sept. 23. 

Banned Books Week is a nation-wide, weeklong celebration of the extensive variety of books there are and a warning about why it is important to fight for the freedom to read. It was first launched by the American Library Association in 1982. This week is relevant now more than ever as 2021 was the year with the most book challenges and bans with more than 1,600 instances recorded by PEN America.  

The Iona event was a panel featuring Sydni Meyer, the Research & Instruction Services Librarian at Arrigoni Library, and Dr. Christina Carlson, the faculty advisor for Sigma Tau Delta. Meyer gave an overview of the terminology of book challenges vs. book bans, the types of books that get banned, and the reasons given for these book bans. Meyer then discussed the dangers of book bans and resistance to the freedom to read as a librarian. Dr. Carlson then acted as commentator and led discussion, relating how banning books is nothing new and has a long history even dating back to the Middle Ages.  

“I am so grateful to our STD student co-chairs who organized the event, and to our librarian Sydni Meyer who highlighted the implications and consequences of book banning for librarians, teachers, children and communities,” Dr. Carlson said. “It was an eye-opening event on a pressing issue, and I think students came away with a new appreciation of how it impacts them.” 

At the event, there was a display of books that had been challenged or banned. The display featured a wide variety of titles, ranging from hot titles in book ban discussions such as “The Bluest Eye” and “The Hate U Give” to beloved children’s stories like “Charlotte’s Web” and “Where the Wild Things Are.” Many students attending the event were shocked to learn some of the books that had been considered controversial enough to be banned.  

“Seeing all of the memorable, classic books that many of us read over the years in various English classes, only to find out that they were ‘banned’ just shocked me,” co-chair of Sigma Tau Delta Gianna Cocovinis said. “Our panelists were very vocal and articulated perfectly how harmful it is to keep these books banned, but I believe we were able to all positively discuss how essential and critical it is to keep these books available in our schools. I hope having talks like this will keep people reading banned books, and advocating for these bans to be lifted. Each story deserves to be told, and it’s my belief events like this are an important addition to the conversation of keeping these books on our shelves.” 

For more information about Banned Books Week and how you can get involved in the fight against book bans, please visit https://www.ala.org/advocacy/bbooks.