One of my favorite websites on this subject of the importance of intellectual freedom is Delete Censorship dot Org

Many people have said, “oh the books are just being challenged, most of the time they’re not banned. It’s no big deal.”

But it is a big deal. Challenges are attempts to ban and censor and challenges can be successful. Challenges also create a chilling atmosphere with writers who worry so much about this sort of thing they never write the books meant to be written. Judy Blume, an author who’s had many of her books challenged said it best –

“It’s not just the books under fire now that worry me. It is the books that will never be written. The books that will never be read. And all due to the fear of censorship. As always, young readers will be the real losers.”

And speaking of Judy Blume – I highly suggest reading this piece about censorship from her website.

Understanding the issue better is a better way to deal and combat censorship. To that end, Why Johnny Can’t Read is a wonderful piece and I highly suggest checking it out.

But by far the most common type of censorship involves books quietly disappearing from libraries. Sometimes a parent who objects to a book but doesn’t want to go through a formal challenge just slips it off the shelf. Frequently a librarian who may fear for her job removes a book that has become controversial. Because of the nature of “stealth censorship,” it is difficult to document and impossible to quantify.

These quiet book bannings affect every aspect of the book world. Librarians, who buy at least half of hardcover literary trade books published for children and young adults, have ever-tightening budgets and face a constricted job market. Under pressure from administrators not to land their schools in the midst of controversy, many librarians have become increasingly cautious about the kind of books they order.

Publishers, who have been cutting their lists because of economic pressures, respond by rejecting many manuscripts that contain problematic language and stories on tough subjects like sexual abuse. And authors censor themselves, weeding out curse words and steering away from difficult areas, regardless of feelings that such omissions affect the credibility of their work.

This issue is layered and more dangerous than we think at first glance. Information is power, which is why it’s being challenged. All parents and free thinking people can do is to push back with information and our voices.