Banned Books Week started in 1982 because a librarian remembered being a twelve-year-old caught reading with a flashlight under her covers, and her mother telling her to turn the light on while she was reading so she wouldn’t hurt her eyes.
The Central Arkansas Library System (CALS) will celebrate the freedom to read, the importance of First Amendment rights, and the power of literature with special events and displays during Banned Books Week, September 22-28. CALS’s celebration of Banned Books Week is sponsored by the Fred K. Darragh Jr. Foundation, and will include the Arkansas Literary Festival’s collaboration with The Weekend Theater of Clockwork Doll on Sunday, September 22, at 6:30 p.m. at The Weekend Theater, 1001 W. 7th Street.
This one-night only collage features scenes from two plays: Nora, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House; and a stage version of the dystopian novella A Clockwork Orange by Anthony Burgess. Both works of literature have been banned or challenged, and are part of The Weekend Theater’s fall season. A brief reception will follow the presentation, which is free and open to the public. Seating is open and reservations are requested, but not required, at pedwards@cals.org or 918-3009. There are a limited number of seats, so patrons are urged to arrive early. For more information on Clockwork Doll visit www.arkansasliteraryfestival.org or call (501) 918-3098.
Banned Books Week stresses the importance of ensuring the availability of all viewpoints, even those which may be unorthodox or unpopular, for all who wish to read and access them; and recognizes the danger that exists when restraints are imposed on the availability of information in a free society. Each year, many books are challenged and/or banned in communities across the United States. In a majority of cases the books are not banned, thanks to the efforts of librarians, teachers, booksellers, and members of the community to retain the books in the library collections.
A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materials, based upon the objections of a person or group; a ban is the removal of challenged materials. Often challenges are motivated by a desire to protect children and youth from ideas and information that may be difficult for them to understand. Although this is a commendable motivation, the Library Bill of Rights states that, “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents-and only parents-have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children-and only their children-to library resources.”
About the Arkansas Literary Festival
The Arkansas Literary Festival, the state’s premier gathering of readers and writers, will feature more than 80 bestselling and emerging authors April 24-27, 2014. The eleventh annual event will feature a stimulating mix of sessions, panels, workshops, activities, performances, special events, and book signings.
About The Weekend Theater
The Weekend Theater, a non-profit theatrical community that produces socially significant plays for the Central Arkansas community, will produce both full length plays in the fall. Performance dates for Nora are October 4, 5, 11, 12, 18, and 19; and A Clockwork Orange runs November 1, 2, 8, 9, 15, and 16. For information about the full productions or to purchase tickets visit www.weekendtheater.org or call (501) 374-3761.
CALS libraries in Little Rock include: Main Library, 100 Rock Street; Hillary Rodham Clinton Children’s Library and Learning Center, 4800 W. 10th Street; Dee Brown Library, 6325 Baseline Road; Fletcher Library, 823 North Buchanan Street; Oley E. Rooker Library, 11 Otter Creek Court; Terry Library, 2015 Napa Valley Drive; Thompson Library, 38 Rahling Circle; Williams Library, 1800 Chester Street; and McMath Library, 2100 John Barrow Road. CALS libraries in surrounding communities include: Millie M. Brooks Library, 13024 Hwy. 365, Wrightsville; Maumelle Library, 10 Lake Pointe Drive, Maumelle; Max Milam Library, 609 Aplin Avenue, Perryville; Esther D. Nixon Library, 703 W. Main Street, Jacksonville; and Amy Sanders Library, 31 Shelby Drive, Sherwood.
Little Rock Culture Vulture 