READ: A Librarian's Perspective

A Librarian's Perspective

Wanda Huffaker, a librarian and chair for the Intellectual Freedom Committee, represents an interesting and updated perspective about the issue of censorship. Read what she wrote to one of our students about her experiences:

Dear Casey,

     Thank you for your interest in censorship. It is a very interesting subject to me. I help defend censorship in the state of Utah as not only part of my job, but also volunteer.

     Censorship happens sometimes without people even realizing it. A few years ago in my library someone took books on witchcraft and hid them between the shelves so they were lost. That is censorship. In our graphic novels patrons drew clothes on women who were scantily clad, that is censorship. If a librarian chooses not to buy a book because she thinks someone might object to it, that is censorship.

     People sometimes complain about a book, but we explain to them that everyone has a right to read what they wish. That is what the 1st Amendment guarantees. In almost every case that is sufficient. Sometimes however they insist that the book be removed from the shelf or that it be put behind the desk. That is when a book is banned.

     The truth is that most books do not stay banned. The only time that really happens is when a library does it secretly and no one knows what has been done. In all honesty, what mostly happens is that word gets out, and eventually that item is returned to its rightful place.

     Library organizations take these rights very seriously and we fight to defend them. A few years ago in Davis School District, a parent complained about the book "In Our Mothers' House" by Patricia Palacco. It is the story of 2 mothers raising children. The book had been removed and placed behind the desk. I worked with the ACLU of Utah, the Freedom to Read Foundation, the National ACLU and the American Library Association to get the book returned to the library shelves. We believed that children should not be embarrassed to have to ask for that book. Rather, if a parent did not want their children to check it out, they could indicate it on their library card. That is one of the most recent bannings in the state of Utah.