Celebrate the Freedom To Read! September 26-30 is Banned Book Week

Kerr, Bill. “Censorship.” Flickr, Oath, 28 July 2006, www.flickr.com/photos/billkerr/200721567.

Banned Book Week was begun in 1982 as the United States' book community's annual celebration of the freedom to read. At AISL, we subscribe to the spirit of the American Library Association's School Library Bill of Rights & its Freedom to Read statement. 

Additionally, we strive to uphold the following Principles of Intellectual Freedom:

1. Parents have a right to determine what their own child may read or not read. They do not have a right to determine what other people’s children may read or not read.
2. Library / media specialists should protect the rights of all students to read a wide variety of books across various genres, resist self-censorship (selecting or omitting materials based on one's personal preferences or projected concerns about others’ reactions to a given work), and support teachers who face challenges.
3. Students should be trusted to choose books they want to read and taught that they are responsible for their own selections. When necessary, they should answer to their parents regarding those choices. (Note: given that our primary and secondary collections are housed in the same building, we DO steer students toward the appropriate zone for their particular grade level.)
   
   Come on in and browse our display of some of the top challenged books from the past few years. You might be surprised by some of the titles you'll find on there!
   

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