REXBURG — It is no secret that book banning is a hot topic in the United States at the moment. This is the not the first time the U.S. has seen an uptick in this practice. It has happened before, in this country, and others.
Braden Chancellor, an undergraduate curator at the David O. McKay Library at BYU-Idaho, is highlighting this trend in his new exhibit, “Controversial Conversations.” Chancellor said this topic has caught his attention, and he wanted to share what he has found with the public.
“What I found was interesting is that the reason books are banned is changing constantly,” Chancellor said. “So, in the 1920s, it might have been for Communism, children's books that briefly mention it or highlight it. But nowadays, a lot of books are being banned because of their topic of sexuality, gender, stuff like that.”
The exhibit brings together books that have been banned through the centuries — from “The Story of Ferdinand” to “Where the Wild Things Are.”
The goal of this exhibit, according to Chancellor, is to educate the public on the topic of banned books and to shine a light on the conversations happening across the country.
If a person is looking to get involved in the local conversation, Chancellor says do your research.
“Getting involved in this conversation, I think, begins with educating yourself about the history of banned books and why books are banned,” Chancellor said. “Then by finding spaces to talk about this, whether it's at board meetings, online social media, or, for example, again, my exhibit, I'm going to be having multiple places for people to stick up posted notes all over the library for them to voice their opinion on questions that will be posted all over and on a website. I'm going to have that as well, so people can respond and stuff. So, I think it really just starts with educating yourself about the topic.”
The open house for the new exhibit will go from November 13 to November 17, and the exhibit will remain open through the end of the semester. The special collections section of the library, which will house this exhibit, is on the second floor of the library, in room 220. The library is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. In addition to the exhibit itself, there will be events and activities happening throughout the week.
On Nov. 16 from 11:30 – 12:30 p.m. will be an English teacher giving a lecture about how you can decide what material is education versus harmful. There is also an event on Monday, Oct. 2, where you can print “chat books” on the Iron Acorn Press.
To find out more information about the exhibit, “Controversial Conversations,” and other things happening at the David O. McKay Library, go to www.library.byui.edu.