A civil liberties tradition, Banned Books Week, will be this year Sept. 29 to Oct. 6, and the ACLU of Connecticut joins the state's chapter of the American Library Association (ALA) in urging its members to weigh in on the side of free speech.
The best-selling series of children's books -- the latest being Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows -- has become a perennial on the list of those libraries are most often asked to keep off their shelves.
"Think about that," says Andrew Schneider, executive director-designate of the Connecticut ACLU. "More parents buy Harry Potter books for their children than any other book in recent memory. But libraries still get demands to keep Hogwarts off their shelves."
At the top of the last year's list of books that libraries have been urged to censor is the award-winning And Tango Makes Three, about two male penguins who find an egg, hatch it and bring up the chick.
"That's a picture book," Schneider says, "A children's book, for heaven's sake, written for parents to read to their pre-reading children. Is it supportive of single-sex families? Sure. Can parents decide whether or not to read it to their kids? Sure. Should libraries keep it off their shelves? Of course not!"
Two other books on the current "top ten" list are both by Toni Morrison: The Bluest Eye and a perennial on the list some want to censor, Beloved.
"We urge our members to visit their local library and borrow one or two from the "banned book" list to consider reading to their children or grandchildren," Schneider says. "And if you think it would nonsense to keep those books off library shelves, we urge you to write a letter to the editor or find other ways to express your view."
