Books in A Cage, or Banned Books Week

A Patron Asked:

Yo, Liberry Lady,

I was at the library yesterday and saw some really good books in a cage.
Why are these books in prison and why are teen readers clamoring to read as many as possible?
(signed)

The Lady Who Swims With The Fishes


The Reference Librarian Answers:

Dear Lady Who Swims With The Fishes,

Those books in the cage might bite somebody! They're wild and beastly, dreadful and scary.... banned or challenged books!

Well... the truth is that the display is really just an illustration of how absurd the idea is that books are dangerous. Really, books won't bite, scratch, or have a smelly accident on your carpet. The worst (and best) they can do is open your mind to new ideas, which you are free to accept or reject, as you like, each patron for his or herself.

Last week the table with the cage was piled high with mountains of books that were banned or challenged somewhere in the USA... now the stacks are growing thin... which means that people in Blue Island are discovering that most of these scary books are really quite interesting and worthwhile, often classics of their genres. Our point exactly.

Don't forget that if you pick a banned book to read this month, you can come to the Reference Desk and receive a small prize and enter a raffle.

Thanks for asking Lady Who Swims With The Fishes!

(As for why the teens love these books... well, teenagers are generally quite smart! open-minded! and teens love a good scandal.)