Banned Books Week: Two Local Perspectives
'At your public library, every week is Banned Books Week'
Katherine Schneider, Nancy Kerr |
Banned Books Week 2025 is scheduled for Oct. 5-11. The theme for the week is "Censorship Is So 1984: Read for Your Rights." The event, supported by organizations like the American Library Association (ALA), PEN America, and others, aims to raise awareness about book bans and celebrate the freedom to read. Two locals – Nancy Kerr and Dr. Katherine Schneider – submitted their thoughts ahead of this year's Banned Books Week.
Director of L.E. Phillips Memorial Public Library, Nancy Kerr:
At your public library, every week is Banned Books Week. Library staff purchase materials for their entire communities. Individuals may certainly request purchases, but the process to ask that a book or material be withdrawn is quite lengthy and detailed out of necessity. A lot of time and attention goes into choosing library materials. Purchasing library materials actually depends very little upon a library employee’s personal preferences. Librarians pay attention to community demand and suggestions, languages spoken in their local area, and the varying needs of all age groups and people of all abilities. They consult professional review journals; best-seller lists and other resources to make educated decisions about how to spend funds judiciously to provide a well-rounded collection.
Public libraries are all about access. Our buildings are open to all, and provide free resources, gathering spaces, programs and services. Cuts to library budgets have a huge effect on people who need them most. When cuts come, through budget reductions or censorship, access to reading, literature, and educational programming is diminished. Cuts to the IMLS (Institute of Museum and Library Services) could affect internet access, summer reading programs, and interlibrary loans which allow libraries to share materials with other libraries.
Dr. Katherine Schneider, retired clinic psychologist, author, and "bookaholic":
From my perspective as a blind person, availability of a book in alternate format (recorded or Braille) determines if I have the freedom to read it. The recent defunding of Benetech’s Bookshare program, if it is not reversed, will restrict by 90% what is available to me to read.
The 2026 Budget Request will eliminate critical funding for special education services that serve students with disabilities in every U.S. district. Specifically, the budget request will defund the Education Technology, Media and Materials (Ed Tech) Program, which provides essential accessibility technology and services that enhance learning outcomes for millions of U.S. students with special needs.
The Ed Tech Program ensures that students with disabilities receive a free, appropriate public education as outlined by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). This includes timely access to learning materials through Bookshare, an accessible eBook library that provides free access to over 1.4 million textbooks and classroom learning materials in alternative formats like audio, large text and braille. Without these resources, students with disabilities like dyslexia, blindness and cerebral palsy would not be able to access learning materials in ways that work for them, pursue higher education and build future careers.
Adults like me who use Bookshare, can read for pleasure and for career advancement. Public libraries can’t afford to offer all their books in alternate format and the National Library Service’s offerings are about a tenth of what Bookshare offers. In order for freedom to read to be a reality for blind and dyslexic folks, we must vote to restore funding for the Ed Tech Program.
