Banning Controversial Books

Restricting books

In today’s society, banning books has become a recurring issue. Books are being banned for various reasons such as containing racial content, extreme violence, and even religious affiliation. I personally do not agree with the schools restricting our knowledge by limiting us to what we can and cannot read. Giving schools the ability to restrict books from being on library shelves combats with our first amendment right, which states “congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press." School libraries should not be able to restrict access to controversial books because it limits student’s knowledge of ideas that reflect the past and conceptual life lessons. The restriction of books is also a violation

In the category of banning controversial books, holy books are also a major issue also talked about a lot. When it comes down to the freedom of press, holy books, like the bible or quran, are allowed to be displayed on school shelves. It is not stated, but it is implied. In 1975, several members of the school board from the Island Trees School District on Long Island, N.Y., acquired a list of books that parent in New York saw as “inappropriate”; the school board members attempted to “unofficially” remove the books and failed to do so due to the first amendment right. If school libraries want to ban books that are considered holy, it is technically unconstitutional. Books that are extremely political are often banned in schools, sometimes libraries even ban them for witchcraft. Library policies that restrict access to resources for any reason must be carefully formulated and administered to ensure they do not violate established principles of intellectual freedom. In the Declaration of Human Rights it simply states, "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontier.” This quote is also points out that it is considered unconstitutional to remove a book from a school

Having books with adult topics in school libraries eliminates the choice the parent has over the child when it comes to mature topics. In addition to this, “numerous studies on the use of graphic material by students indicate negative psychological effects" (ProCon.org). Mature books can have negative impacts to children if they are read at too early of an age. Some of these banned books however, can contribute to young minds and develop strong moral values as they continue to grow. For example, To Kill a Mockingbird is a book that has recently been banned in certain school systems due to harsh racial slurs. Yet, it has been used across the country to teach that people should be treated fairly regardless of their race. Some believe there are other books that teach the same concept without the harsh language. Parents are concerned about the environment that their children are exposed to when they read books that are deemed controversial. The restriction of books allows parents to control what books their child is allowed to check out of libraries. Though there are many positives of restricting books from school libraries, I believe that this removal of books is stripping kids from knowledge that could better them in the future. I believe