By Maggie McDonald
From October 1 though 7, 2023, the ILS department followed the lead of the American Library Association (ALA) and spent a week celebrating the freedom to read while shining a light on current and past attempts to censor books in libraries and schools.
During a time of increasing challenges to reading materials of all types, library and information science departments, the ALA and its members, and libraries across the country are standing up for readers and defending their rights to access a diverse wealth of information, resources, and stories.
The Friday before Banned Books Week, there was a booth in HB Wells library showcasing challenged titles as part of Luddy’s turn in the Friday Finish library event series. Here, patrons were informed about the censorship problems and encouraged to check out the books. Many were shocked to see the challenges extended to high school literary classics and religious texts. ILS’ Banned Books Week featured banned book pop-ups in Luddy Hall, and Tuesday paired a pop-up event with an hour of coffee and conversation led by Professor Howard Rosenbaum.
The week’s events culminated with a visit from David Ferriero, Tenth Archivist of the United States. Ferriero spent time working with students in relevant courses (including Dr. Donaldson’s Archives and Records Management course), having breakfast with student workers at Wells Library, and taking part in a Q&A session with Sara Stefani, the Wells Library’s Modern Political Papers Archivist.