The real story behind those banned books.......

Over the last couple of weeks there has been great interest at school and in our local community about GEIS banning some popular books in our library.  The rumours have certainly stirred some passion and indignation.   

So what is this all about?  A couple of weeks ago our school librarian set up a display of children's books that have been banned over the years in  libraries across the world.    In class library sessions, the reasons why these books were challenged or removed from individual libraries in various different countries is  shared with the students.  Also discussed is the importance of having the freedom to read and how not everyone will choose to read the same book.

Students are then invited  to vote for their favourite book(s) and give reasons why they think they should not be banned.  Ultimately, this is a promotion to raise awareness that students should have the freedom to select their own books, not every book is right for every reader, and to encourage all students to read.  It has certainly captured their interest and the library is humming at break times with students coming in to view the display and cast their votes.

The promotion has also stirred interest and concern in our wider community and we have responded to a few emails from parents whose children have thought that we intended to ban the books on display.  Unfortunately, we are also aware of parents who have contacted the media or commented on facebook posts about our 'banned books'.    This is rather disappointing as our lines of communication are always open and we readily respond to questions or concerns from whanau.  

We apologise for for any angst we may have caused around the dinner table, but we are very pleased about the increased levels of student engagement in books and the library over the past couple of weeks.

Ngā mihi nui

Maree Stavert