Banned Books Week News Article

Link to October 5 Racine Journal Times online post,"Banning books hasn't been a goal around here".

Excerpt:
Racine and Burlington library patrons haven’t been asking to remove books from the shelves lately.

The Racine Public Library has not had requests for books to be banned in the last couple of years, said Racine Public Library Director Jessica MacPhail.

“We do take seriously anybody’s concern over library materials,” she said. “Over the last few years there haven’t been any. We get many more requests for ‘Could you purchase ...’ ”

The Burlington Public Library also has not had any requests for reconsideration of a book or other material in quite a while, said Burlington Public Library director Gayle Falk. She believes it’s a matter of change in the way the community looks at issues.

It’s MacPhail’s opinion that the lack of requests for book removals is because the community is more educated than it used to be and more open to different viewpoints.

“They are very supportive and open-minded,” she said.


10 most challenged books of 2007.