Book banning is in the news again, and it’s got me scratching
my head. There’s a Utah law saying if at least three school districts remove a
particular book from their libraries, then all forty+ districts must also
remove them. So far, 37 books fit this category, and some of their authors – including
Elana K. Arnold, Ellen Hopkins, Stephen King, and the families of Maya Angelou
and Kurt Vonnegut – are suing for financial, reputational and professional harm.
It’s an interesting conundrum. First, it’s hard to imagine a book ban in the
age of the Internet. These books are only removed from school libraries,
which have limited budgets and space. Anyone wishing to read them can, by purchasing
their own or visiting any other library. Second, a book “ban” tends to excite
interest in books that might otherwise collect dust. Third, the current crop of
students is barely literate anyway. We should be pleased (and surprised) they’re
reading anything.
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