{"id":66576,"date":"2019-09-04T00:24:03","date_gmt":"2019-09-04T00:24:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-library-celebrates-banned-books\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T16:00:18","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T16:00:18","slug":"mancos-library-celebrates-banned-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/mancos-library-celebrates-banned-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Mancos library celebrates banned books"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"Journal
Journal file<br><br>Teen Cafe on Saturday, Sept. 7, will center around banned books and films.<\/span>du1-i-syn<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

Mancos librarian Jenni Kitchen loves banned books.<\/p>\n

And she believes strongly that libraries have a responsibility to \u201ckeep the light on\u201d by providing access to books and other materials, edgy or not.<\/p>\n

So she\u2019s celebrating banned books and materials all month long, through activities like Saturday\u2019s Teen Cafe night, which focuses on celebrating banned books and films and discussing the dangers of censorship.<\/p>\n

\u201cCensorship and banning books, it takes away from our opportunities to educate ourselves and grow where we want to grow.\u201d said Kitchen, the young adult services librarian at the Mancos Public Library. \u201cAnd that\u2019s what libraries are about, is giving you access to all the knowledge that you could want.\u201d<\/p>\n

Kitchen isn\u2019t the only one thinking about censorship this month. Across the country, librarians, publishers and other book-lovers are celebrating Banned Books Week during the last week of September.<\/p>\n

The week launched in the 1980s, during a time when books were seeing increasing challenges, according to the American Library Association<\/a>. In 1982, the Supreme Court ruled in Island Trees School District v. Pico that local school boards cannot ban books in libraries just because of their content \u2013 the court ruled that would be a violation of First Amendment rights to freedom of speech.<\/p>\n

The censorship conversation has continued since then, extending into other mediums including film and television. While many books have been challenged by concerned parents or community members, actually banning them is less common.<\/p>\n

According to the ALA, in 2018<\/a> the top three most challenged books were: \u201cGeorge\u201d by Alex Gino, \u201cA Day in the Life of Marlon Bundo\u201d by Jill Twiss, and the \u201cCaptain Underpants\u201d series by Dav Pilkey.<\/p>\n

Other books that have been frequently challenged in recent years include \u201cThirteen Reasons Why,\u201d the controversial novel-turned-Netflix series dealing with teen suicide, along with John Green\u2019s \u201cLooking for Alaska,\u201d seen as problematic for having offensive language and being sexually explicit. The Bible has appeared on the list too, for its \u201creligious viewpoint,\u201d according to the ALA.<\/p>\n

At the Teen Cafe night, Kitchen plans to center her conversation around a few children\u2019s books that have been criticized and challenged as being too inappropriate for young children: \u201cIn the Night Kitchen\u201d and \u201cWhere the Wild Things Are,\u201d both by Maurice Sendak.<\/p>\n

Opposing book censorship doesn\u2019t mean age appropriateness shouldn\u2019t be considered, though, Kitchen said.<\/p>\n

\u201cEspecially with some of these graphic novels,\u201d she said. \u201cThey look pretty bad and dark and grim.\u201d Sometimes a book will be on the edge between juvenile and young adult, or young adult and adult, and she\u2019ll err on the side of caution by assigning it to the more mature age group.<\/p>\n

Mancos hasn\u2019t yet had any book challenges, Kitchen said, although there are a few \u201crisky ones\u201d that she anticipates could stir up trouble.<\/p>\n

She agrees with young adult author Sherman Alexie, who said, \u201cThe best children\u2019s books are written in blood.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we\u2019d rather have them experience these things in a book than to actually experience them in real life,\u201d Kitchen said.<\/p>\n

Teen Cafe will happen from 7-10 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 7.<\/p>\n

ealvero@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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