Tag Archives: intellectual freedom

The Freedom to Read! Words of Wisdom from Doris Lessing

Posted on by
Reply

Thanks to Mary Friesz, BSC’s Director of Marketing, who forwarded this quote from Doris Lessing.

With a library you are free, not confined by temporary political climates.  It is the most democratic of institutions because no one — but no one at all — can tell you what to read and when and how. 

~ Doris Lessing, Nobel Prize-winning novelist and playwright

Doris Lessing is a British writer whose novels and short stories are largely concerned with people involved in the social and political upheavals of the 20th century. She was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007.

We have several of her books at the BSC Library.  Check them out!

 

Read Out! for Banned Books Week

Posted on by
Reply

“What do books from the Twilight series, To Kill a Mockingbird and Catcher in the Rye have in common?  All have faced removal from library bookshelves in the United States within the past year …. Read more

 

Celebrate Your Freedom to Read

READ OUT!

Monday, September 27

BSC Library

Noon to 1 p.m.

Join us for readings from books that have been banned or challenged

For more information, visit:  American Library Association

List of books challenged/banned in 2009-10

Banned Books Week, September 25-October 2

Banned in Missouri: 2008 BSC Campus Read Selection

Posted on by
Reply

In 2008, the BSC Campus Read selection was The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-time Indian by Sherman Alexie.  It was popular with students, faculty, and staff and led to great discussions on campus.  Alexie also visited campus and gave a presentation to a standing room only crowd at the Belle Mehus Auditorium.  In fact, he invited people who couldn’t find seats to join him on the stage and sit there.  His presentation was fun and funny as well as thoughtful and reflective.

In April, the school board in Stockton, Missouri, voted to remove Alexie’s book from the school.  In July, they voted to reconsider their original motion.  At their August 18 meeting, they will schedule a date for a special meeting to discuss the suitability of the book and answer in writing five questions posed by the school board.

For all the details, click here to read the story from the Cedar County Republican.  Included in the posting are links to letters sent to the school board by the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom and a joint letter from the National Council of Teachers of English, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the American Library Association, and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

Your thoughts?