Front Range libraries are participating in Banned Books Week. The American Library Association's annual event highlights the value of free and open access to controversial, challenged, or banned books. It started over 40 years ago with a sudden increase in efforts to remove books from schools, libraries, and bookstores.
The Adams County Public Library District's Anythink Libraries has launched a digital collection that you can access with your smartphone. The Freedom to Read Collection is the first of its kind in Colorado.
"We're removing as many barriers as possible for people to be able to have access," said Mark Fink with the library district.
All readers need to do is provide a name and email address. The collection is available through the Palace mobile app.
According to Fink, there were 118 books challenged in Colorado last year. He says many of the titles were centered on the trans community. Fink says offering these books is about supporting First Amendment rights.
“If the public library didn't buy material that provides diverse points of view and diverse content, then it limits ideas that people can have. It limits content where people see themselves in the stories. It really just restricts access. It restricts imagination, it restricts research,” he said.
Some of Fink’s favorite commonly banned books include George Orwell’s 1984, Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God and Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye.
"The library is neutral. We provide material for everyone, and everybody that walks into a library should be able to find something that they want to read or that they're interested in or that they have questions about, so that we can provide that context," Fink said.
Poudre Libraries in Fort Collins is challenging local bookworms to "Read for Your Rights" all month long. The library system is hosting events around town to coincide with Banned Books Week, including a special film screening at The Lyric.
Libraries in Boulder and Longmont have new displays up featuring frequently challenged books from adult, teen and children's collections.
The American Library Association compiles a list every year of the Top 10 most challenged books.
