Issues and Trends in Literature

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Books are more powerful than weapons, maybe that's why some books are prohibited. Prohibition that tries to silence stories, debates, and discussions. The American Library Association (ALA) in its annual report 2018 on the state of libraries in the United States points out that one of the emerging trends - although it has long existed - that affect intellectual freedom is the request to eliminate or restrict access to certain titles of public libraries because of their content. The banning of books is not new in the United States.

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The Comstock Act of 1873 was the first national norm that prohibited the distribution of obscene and / or lascivious works. In the early 1980s there was a sudden increase in the number of books censored in libraries, schools and bookstores, which alarmed librarians and society. The main reasons are the presence of explicit or vulgar or offensive language, violence, explicit sexual references, racism, perpetuation of stereotypes or politically biased propaganda.

Last year, ALA received reports of over hundreds of censored books.

But it is only the tip of the iceberg. Most of the works in this situation go unnoticed. A censored publication is not necessarily removed from the shelf. One of the most visible ways in which libraries are heroes of freedom of expression is in the defense of such materials. There are organizations dedicated to preserving certain values that they consider untraditional criticized as 'bad books' in the press. But most acts of censorship begin when a person, often a father or a mother, protests because he/she did not like the work.

Books are often criticized for their offensive or sexual language, for their religious perspective, for describing homosexuality, nudity, being sexist or simply considering that it is not appropriate for a particular age.

Although it is difficult to think that a book about penguins can be the subject of heated debates, it is an example. That was what happened with 'And Tango Makes Three.' The book, written by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell, tells the story of two male penguins that raise an orphan pigeon. The story, based on a real case at the Central Park Zoo in New York, raises the delicate question of what constitutes a family. But as a children’s book other readers view it as supporting same sex marriage.

Another example is Sherman Alexie's award-winning 'The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian', 2007, was banned by the Stockton District School in the central state of Missouri. The book, which tells the story of an Indian teenager who decided to go to a high school of all whites, was part of the Stockton high school program. But some parents complained that it violated the values of the community because of its crude language and descriptions of a sexual nature. The book brought controversy to the community, but it also allowed a voice for issues that are happening. This book can be portrayed as two viewpoints. One is the community felt they were being pin pointed as the villain.

But there is always two sides to a story, another viewpoint is resilience in the face of oppression and being able to live through the pressure society may give. Literature can improve the ability to feel empathy because it is a simulator of reality. In some way literature would work as a field of risk-free tests where particular and extreme conditions can be given and practiced that we do not normally access with assiduity. Although many insist on believing otherwise, it is conceptually possible to separate both questions: the criticism of the person who consumes the contents and the criticism of the content itself. After all, our ideas, values and morals help define us, but neither ideas, values, nor morals are we: both can change over time, and be subject to the examination of our conscience.

The Association of American Librarians began to register the censored works, according to complaints from the public, and to publish an annual list of them. Some examples are 'And Tango Makes Three'which appears in the document along with other works for young people such as the series 'Twilight'. Classics like 'The color purple', by Alice Walker, 'Kill a nightingale' by Harper Lee, and the book written by Jerome David Salinger that was published as 'The guardian among the rye'. The Intellectual Freedom Office of ALA, facilitates everyone's access to library material.

Several court rulings by the Supreme Court ruled that books can not be removed from libraries because of discrepancies with the ideas presented. If there is a person who can benefit from the book, it is a crime to remove it. Censorship of books can violate the freedom of expression enshrined in the Constitution. Because libraries are also in favor of transparency, you can find many examples of library materials challenged in the annual reviews of institutions and organizations. In summary, within the framework of the defense of freedom of expression and the right to access information without fear of reprisals. These rights are fundamental to what these worthy institutions have always defended and continue to defend daily. Many librarians believe to be caught in the middle of the controversy and be caught in the middle of protecting intellectual freedom or to spread ones view on social justice.

Of course, this is a delicate issue that has many edges and there will be opinions as many as librarians and users in the world. However, all these notes together make us return to the question that for centuries has haunted us when these issues come to light, what should be the role of the librarian and the library in dealing with these issues? It is a topic that we talk little about and there is no definite position taken. The role that every library has always had: to be guarantor of access to information. Librarians have the responsibility that involves making information available to the public that has a direct impact on their lives and on their possibilities for educational and cultural development.