![]() I constantly questioned the validity of my feelings. Growing up LGBTQ+ in a world before Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me, Juliet Takes a Breath, Darius the Great is Not Okay, Clap When You Land, Mooncakes, Red, White & Royal Blue, and so on left me without books that I could see that part of my identity in. ![]() For me, part of why I became a teen librarian and why I am so set on challenging censorship and having a diverse collection is the joy I feel for some of the YA reads coming out. I think that for some of us, this week feels personal. We must provide equal and open access to materials, meaning we can’t buckle under the pressure of public distaste for challenged materials. So why do I think Banned Books Week is so important? First, it is central to our profession to provide collections and resources that span the depth and breadth of the human experience, allowing our patrons to see themselves in the collection and create an opportunity for them to learn and form their own opinions. Further, the teachers highlighting why they still taught the books was intended to make our audience think about the value of modern challenged books, to reconsider prejudices against books like The Hate U Give and The Prince and the Dressmaker. Highlighting these books added shock value we wanted people to be surprised at which books have been banned and why. Salinger, Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck, 1984 by George Orwell, and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The teachers shared The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. ![]() I was lucky enough to have five teachers from the high school English department volunteer their time to give a short book talk about a commonly banned book that’s considered a “classic” and they still like to teach in their class. Though hours of my time went into many of these projects, I am especially proud of the video series I worked on.
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