Banned Books Week ends Saturday Posted On: Monday, Sep. 28 2009 04:35 AM By Rebecca Hertz
Killeen Daily Herald

America has many avid readers who value the opportunity to share ideas and exchange viewpoints.

Banned Books Week, which ends Saturday, was designed to celebrate Americans' freedom to read. People challenge books that they consider too sexual or violent. They object to profanity and slang, and protest against offensive portrayals of racial or religious groups or positive portrayals of homosexuals, according to the Banned Books Week Web site.

A book may be banned because of its content. It doesn't have to be something glaring throughout the book; it can be one or two words on a page that can spark someone to say it should not be in the library, said Margaret Handrow, director of the Copperas Cove Public Library.

"What offends one person may not offend another," Handrow said. "The purpose of the library is to present multiple viewpoints to people on any given topic. How can people make informed decisions with only one viewpoint?"

When a book is challenged at the library, there is a process in place for the library board and staff to review the book. The book is pulled from the shelf during the review process for staff access and to prevent loss, damage or censorship by residents.

Handrow said that art books are especially susceptible to damage. People paint clothing on the nudes, use a razor blade to remove the pages or black out the content.

"They do this under the guise of morality and truly believe they are dong the correct thing," Handrow said.

Deba Swan, dean of library services at Central Texas College, will have a display of the top 10 banned books for 2008. Freedom of choice is challenged when someone says don't read a particular book, she said.

The CTC library has had only three complaints in the history of the library, which is open to the public.

"I try to convey to students that it is their choice," Swan said. "We can keep that choice free and not allow other people to make that choice for us."

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas' 12th Annual "Free People Read Freely: A report on Banned and Challenged Books in Texas Public Schools" shows that 42 school districts reported 102 challenges resulting in 27 bans for the 2007-08 school year, based on 62.57 percent of districts responding to the request for information.