It’s your sophomore year and you’re reading “Fahrenheit 451.” You think: “The government would never ban books at such an extreme level.” So, what if I told you that very book, which covers the severity book banning can have on a society, is banned now? Book banning has become increasingly popular among states across the country in recent years, causing people to question just how much of a reality dystopian novels are becoming.
Banned And Challenged Book, a website in support of anti-book banning, proves that book banning is up 20% from 2022. This has resulted in nearly 2,000 books attempting to be removed or restricted from libraries. Most of the books being challenged have been covering the stories of people of color and people in the LGBTQ+ community. In the nation of freedom, should we really be banning books at such an alarming rate? My answer is no.
Studies done by Middle Tennessee State University show that people in support of banning books, more often than not, feel that some books should be banned to protect children from being subjected to the contents of the book. They fear children will be persuaded into believing the subjects the books are covering and thus regard it as potentially harmful.
However, books are vital to our education, and banning them goes against the constitution. “Book bans violate the First Amendment because they deprive children or students of the right to receive information and ideas,” said David L. Hudson Jr., a professor at Belmont University College of Law. Books are an important source of knowledge and allow readers as well as writers to express themselves in a creative and broad form.
Markham Public Library suggests that reading exercises the brain, improves concentration and ability to focus, improves sleep, general knowledge and reduces stress. Looking to First Book we can see that book banning has no positive effects on readers. In actuality, First Book suggests that 72% of people within a survey showcased that restricting book access decreases engagement. However, this doesn’t mean that book banning will stop.
In Texas we are seeing bills such as HB900 being passed, which restricts library materials sold or included in public school libraries. School library vendors are required to rate all of the books for appropriateness before selling them to schools. This is seemingly harmless as of course we want our books to be appropriate for the reader. But, experts are worried that the language in the bill remains too broad which is why so many books are being banned so easily.
This bill requires all books with an “explicit” rating to be labeled as such, and students who wish to check out the book will have to obtain their parent’s/guardian’s consent. This could be seen as a positive, however, as the book is still potentially readable if the student is able to gain consent from their parent/guardian. So, not all hope is lost to this bill.
Positively, educators are reporting that students want to read more when offered the choice to read banned books as reported by First Books.
A multitude of studies have shown the negative outcomes of banning books, as well as the importance reading a wide selection of books has on students. And though these books are still able to be obtained in some situations, the threat of book banning is still alive and well. So, to combat this book banning rhetoric, read banned books. By reading banned books it is demonstrating that banning books can only do so much to quiet the voices of students, writers, and readers.
