Film screenings, panel discussions and live readings are among the events scheduled for Banned Books Week by the Wichita Public Library.
Banned Books Week is an annual event across the United States that fosters the importance of free and open access to literature. Many books that are banned or challenged involve LGBTQ characters or themes, or cover issues such as race or diversity.
“Censorship is So 1984 — Read for Your Rights" events at the Wichita Public Library begin Sunday with screening of the documentary, “Banned Together.” It will conclude on Oct. 11 with a live book reading at all the city's branches at 2 p.m.
Steven Kelly, the Adult Literacies manager at the Wichita Public Library, helped select books for the live readings. Books chosen vary from children’s literature, such as “And Tango Makes Three” by Justin Richardson Flamer, to historical fiction like Kurt Vonnegut’s “Slaughterhouse-Five.”
The chosen books reflect the wide range of perspectives and experiences the library strives for, Kelly said.
“It includes books that sometimes discuss controversial topics, and it's important for people to see their lives represented in our collections, in the books that they read,” Kelly said.
“That's really important to … your personal development as a human is for you to be able to see people who look like you in the books that we have at the library.”
Book bans have evolved over time, usually taking a more subtle approach than what people imagine it looks like. National lists of banned books are used to challenge literature in local school districts and libraries.
“It's not just burning books in a pile …, ” Kelly said. “It happens when people restrict people's access to books and take them off the shelves or put them in restricted sections, or say that if you're under 18, you can't check out this book and stuff like that.”
Banning books can suppress a person’s right to learn and access information. Banned Books Week is meant as a way to educate people.
“I want them to walk away with an understanding of the kinds of books that are being banned and why that's just totally antithetical to democratic values and first amendment rights,” Kelly said.
