Can you identify these books? These are the Top 10 Most Challenged Books of 2019, according to the American Library Association. Reply with your answers in the comments.
Banned Books Week is September 27 to October 3. Find out more.
September 27 to October 3 is Banned Books Week. Established in 1982 and currently sponsored by the Banned Books Week Coalition, which is, in their words:
…an international alliance of diverse organizations joined by a commitment to increase awareness of the annual celebration of the freedom to read. The Coalition seeks to engage various communities and inspire participation in Banned Books Week through education, advocacy, and the creation of programming about the problem of book censorship.
Find out more about Banned Books Week:
Check out our display of books for International Women’s Day, including titles relating to Feminism; justice,equality and freedom for women; the status of women and girls in Canada and around the world.
February 23 to 29 is Freedom to Read Week in Canada. Come down to the School Library to find out more. We have a display of books and other resources related to our freedom to read, our right to have access to information, and our responsibility to exercise those rights and freedoms as informed, free-thinking citizens. We will will also feature online resources, so be sure to check out our site, tweedsmuirlibrary.wordpress.com.
From the United Nations:
Human Rights Day is observed every year on 10 December — the day the United Nations General Assembly adopted, in 1948, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): a milestone document proclaiming the inalienable rights which everyone is inherently entitled to as a human being regardless of race, colour, religion, sex, language, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status.
The theme for Human Rights Day 2019 is “Youth Standing Up for Human Rights.” The youth of the world, including you, and the other students here at Lord Tweedmsuir, have both the right, and the responsibility, to both celebrate and defend Human Rights for all people.
Find out more:
Check out these books in your School Library:
What do these books have in common?
These were six of the Top Eleven Most Challenged Books in 2018, as reported by the American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom. These are also books you can freely borrow from your School Library. Exercise your rights and freedoms, and celebrate the joy of making your own choices about what you want to read. Find out more about Banned Books Week.
From the American Libarary Association:
Banned Books Week (September 22-28, 2019) is an annual event celebrating the freedom to read. Typically held during the last week of September, it spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. It brings together the entire book community — librarians, booksellers, publishers, journalists, teachers, and readers of all types — in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.
International Women’s Day is celebrated around the globe every March 8th. International Women’s Day is a celebration of the contributions of women to society, especially in politics, culture, economics and other areas traditionally closed to women or where the achievements of women were ignored. IWD is also a chance to focus on the continuing battle for gender equality.
The inequality of opportunity for women, and of course outcome, is unacceptable in modern democracies, and worse in other parts of the world. According to the United Nations, “Today, gender inequality is rife: 1 in 3 women experience violence in their lifetime; 830 women die every day from preventable pregnancy-related causes; and only 1 in 4 parliamentarians worldwide are women. It will be 2086 before we close the gender pay gap if present trends continue with no action.” Those are just a fraction of the statistics which demonstrate the continuing need to stand up against inequality.
The struggle for women’s rights is a struggle for human rights. All people, men as well as women, should stand together and demand change.
Find out more:
It is Freedom to Read Week in Canada. We take time this week to celebrate some of our fundamental rights and freedoms, including the freedom to read whatever we choose to read. As citizens of a liberal democracy, we require access to information and ideas, free from state interference or censorship. Take some time this week to reflect on your Freedom to Read.
Find out more:
Women’s Marches took place this past weekend around the country and around the world. Hundreds of thousands of women joined in solidarity in cities like Vancouver and others around Canada, the United States and across the globe. The Women’s March of 2018 was the first anniversary of the Women’s March that took place last year, with much of the impetus coming from protests against the policies of the new U.S. President. In the year that followed the news has been dominated by issues related to the equality and rights of women, making this year’s march as important as ever.
Find out more:
On this day in 1948 the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly.
Article 1.
Article 2.
Article 3.
Click here for the full text of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Click here for the history of, and other information about, the UDHR. And click here for more information about Human Rights Day.
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