University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

"""The Books Will Still Be in the Library"": Narrow Definitions of Censorship in the Discourse of Challengers"

Knox, Emily J.M.

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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/54904

Description

Title
"""The Books Will Still Be in the Library"": Narrow Definitions of Censorship in the Discourse of Challengers"
Author(s)
Knox, Emily J.M.
Issue Date
2014
Keyword(s)
  • censorship
  • intellectual freedom
  • West Bend Community Memorial Library
Abstract
One of the many areas of conflict between challengers and professional librarians centers on the definition of censorship. Challengers often employ a definition that maintains that banning materials is the only true form of censorship, while the codified definition of censorship within librarianship is concerned with impediments to access. Through analysis of arguments in the West Bend (WI) challenge case, this article explores three themes in challengers’ narrow definitions of censorship found in their discourse. First, challengers argue that moving books within the library is not considered to be censorship. Second, they maintain that labeling books for content is also not a form of censorship. Finally, challengers focus on “common sense” actions and the power of the majority in their arguments to impede access to controversial materials.
Publisher
Johns Hopkins University Press and the Graduate School of Library and Information Science. University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
ISSN
0024-2594
Type of Resource
text
Language
en
Permalink
http://hdl.handle.net/2142/54904
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1353/lib.2014.0020
Copyright and License Information
Copyright 2014 Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois

Owning Collections

Library Trends 62 (4) Spring 2014: The West Bend Challenges PRIMARY
Library Trends 62 (4) Spring 2014: The West Bend Challenges: Open Access and Intellectual Freedom in the Twenty-First Century. Edited by: Joyce M. Latham and Barbara M. Jones