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September 18, 2015Banned Book Read Out Hosted by SCPL and NY Civil Liberties Union
The Schenectady County Public Library and the Capital Region Chapter of the New York Civil Liberties Union are sponsoring this event, which calls attention to literature that has been banned or challenged.
The community is invited to the event on Sunday, September 27, at 2 p.m., in the McChesney Room at the Central Library, 99 Clinton St., Schenectady. Local journalist, Carl Strock will moderate this celebration of everyone’s freedom to read.
Presenters, made up of local celebrities and politicians, will read a short selection from one of their favorite books on the American Library Association’s banned books list. A reception will be held at the conclusion of the program and attendees will receive a free “gently used” copy of a banned book to take home.
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom promotes awareness of challenges made to library materials and celebrates freedom of speech during Banned Books Week. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or a group. A banning is the removal of those materials. Challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice.
Some examples of well-known books that have fallen onto this list over the years are; To Kill A Mockingbird, The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, The Color Purple, The Lord of the Rings and The Hunger Games.
This program would also not be possibly without the help of the Friends of the Schenectady County Public Library.
