Banned Books Week is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it highlights the value of free and open access to information.
Carson City Library will host a Virtual Read-Out during Banned Books Week, bringing together the community in shared support of the freedom to seek and express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.
The Virtual Read-Out will take place on three separate days — from 2 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 27; from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday, Sept. 28; and another read-out from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 29, when bestselling author Ellen Hopkins will read from her own challenged books.
The community is invited to participate in the virtual read-out by visiting the library during the scheduled events. Participants will select a passage from one of the targeted titles (held in reserve for this occasion) and read aloud from the book. A videographer will record the reading. The recordings will be uploaded to the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out YouTube channel, available at http://bit.ly/bannedbooks2015, that has been dedicated to proclaiming the virtues of the freedom to read. The Read-Out will take place in the Library’s Digitorium.
Local read-outs — a continuous reading of banned or challenged books — has been a practice since the inception of Banned Books Week in 1982. Libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs and this year Carson City Library has promoted the event with a public service announcement, filmed and produced by Nevada Photo Source. The 55 second PSA features Nevada Supreme Court Justice Nancy Saitta, Superintendent of Public Instruction Dale Erquiaga, and Carson City Sheriff Kenneth Furlong. Justice Saitta read from the Dr. Seuss classic, “Hop on Pop”, while Superintendent Erquiaga read from Jeannette Walls memoir, “The Glass Castle”, and Sheriff Furlong read a passage from “The Working Poor: Invisible in America”, written by Pulitzer Prize winner David K. Shipler. The PSA can be viewed by visiting the Carson City Library Facebook page,https://www.facebook.com/CarsonCityLibrary and can also be seen at http://bit.ly/1F5tgNH.
Banned Books Week reminds Americans not to take the freedom to read for granted. Since 1990, the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom has received reports of 9,500 attempts to remove books deemed by some as inappropriate. Is your favorite book safe? To participate in the Virtual Read-out, contact Andrea Moore at AMoore@carson.org or call her at 775 283-7593.
For more information, go to www.bannedbooksweek.org.