The American Library Association estimates that there are 121,169 libraries in the United States.

Of these, 8,951 are public libraries, certified by the FSCS. 3,689 are academic libraries. 9,354 belong to the government, armed forces, religious sections, law offices, and corporations. There are 17,260 in private schools. The other 81,920 libraries are in public schools across the country. And many of these libraries have signs up on their walls with a list of books that cannot be found in that library because it is banned. Among these are some of the most known titles in American history, such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Catcher in the Rye, and To Kill a Mockingbird. The American Library Association should not ban books in American schools because it is unconstitutional, the books have educational value, and everyone has the right to learn. The banning of books is almost as old as books themselves. The oldest and most well known method of banning books is burning them. This dates back to 450 B.C, with a writer named Anaxagoras, who wrote that the moon didnt shine from its own light. This blasphemy resulted in his exile, and the burning of all his writings. This practice has endured to this day, by people who believe that the best way to speak out against books they dont like is to destroy them. The official legal banning of books had its first major step in 1873, when the New York Society for Suppression of Vice was created. The founder of the society banned hundreds of books in 8 states, just because he found them to be obscene. This was legal until 1982, in Board of Education, Island Trees vs. Pico, in which it was ruled that a book could not be removed because people didnt like the themes in it. Over the years, there have also been smaller scale attempts to ban books for various reasons. One of

these, a suggested amendment to the Oregon state constitution, dealt with homosexuality. The amendment, called Measure 9, said that the Oregon state public schools had to deem homosexuality as bad and abnormal and could not promote it. If passed, this would have resulted in all books with homosexuality in it, about homosexuality, or by homosexual authors to have been banned from schools. Legislature like this is being put through the government and the ALA all over the country, and though it is hard to ban books, the sheer number of people attempting results in some success. However, there are many people fighting against the banning of books in schools. The American Library Association has increased the restrictions on what can be banned, and the numbers of books banned per year is decreasing. However, these restrictions are still allowing for books to be banned. The National Coalition against Censorship is one of the biggest opponents to censorship of all kinds, including books. They petition the ALA about banned books, write articles online, and raise awareness. But their main focus is not book censorship, and therefore not many major breakthroughs have been made in that direction. One of the most influential groups in changing the standards for banning books is the Office of Intellectual Freedom. This is because they are a subsection of the ALA, which, while claiming to promote intellectual freedom in libraries, still bans books. The problem of banned books in American schools is a problem, yes, but it is not very bad right now. Books are being banned, but these bans are being fought. But because of society today, it will have repercussions. The themes that students are not learning because they are in the banned books are becoming large issues

that they will have to deal with as adults. Another, more pressing issue, is that the first amendment being violated is not seen as a problem in this situation. People blindly look over the fact that the expression of these authors is being repressed. This problem extends past the students who cannot read these books to their parents, who are letting their childrens rights be violated. One of the major reasons that is looked over about the banning of books is the legality of it. The first amendment states that Americans have the freedom of press and speech. This means that they can write the books they want to write and can read the books they want to read. The arguments over censorship because of content are valid, but essentially shouldnt matter because it is not legal for the US government to ban books in libraries. If readers want to read a book or teachers want to teach the content in a book, they should be free to do that because of their rights as a US citizen. One solution to the problem of banned books in schools can be, simply, outlaw it. If the federal government decides that this censorship is illegal, then the ALA will have no choice but to stop banning books in schools, and the issue is solved. This could, however, result in the offense of many people who dont want their children reading certain books. Another prominent issue about banning books is that the educational value of many books is worth the problems with it. One of the best examples of this is The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This is number one book recommended to the American Library Association for banning, because of excessive use of the n word. It is also considered a great literary classic and is recommended by many teachers as assigned reading. Many parents complain that their kids should not read this

book because it will teach them bad values about being racist. Huckleberry Finn is a book that doesnt promote racism, but opposes it by showing racial equality between two boys. This is the situation with many books that are recommended to be banned. To Kill a Mockingbird does have a scene about rape, but it is a scene that shows how terrible of a thing it is. This is another reason that the educational value of these books cannot be ignored. If the themes that parents dont want their kids introduced to in school arent introduced to them, they will have to confront them blindly later in life. A student who was never introduced to homosexuality in school because all the books about it were banned will have some problems later in life. This student will have to deal with homosexuals in his life, laws about homosexuality, and large scale discussions about it. He/she will be confused, and may get a skewed perspective about homosexuality because he/she only knows what he/she hears. However, if this student read a book about homosexuality in school, and was taught about it from a rounded perspective, the student will be prepared more for his/her life later on. The same is true for many of the themes books are banned for, such as racism, descriptive violence, profanity and drug use. These books can be banned, but it will do nothing but detract from the education of children. Since some books do not have as much educational value as others, another way to solve the problem of banning books is have educators choose what books are taught in schools. This would not extend to what is in libraries, because that should be left open to all books, but the books that are taught should be decided by the people teaching. This would ensure that the students get taught what they need to know, not just what some people want them to know.

In America, parents and legal guardians watch over their children until they are 18 years old. This does extend to a degree over what they read and are taught in schools. But this does not mean that they have control over what anyone elses child reads. If one parent has an objection to a book in school, but others think it is good their children are learning about the themes in it, it isnt right that the book should be banned from schools. The school teaches what is deemed appropriate and necessary to learn by the Board of Education. The parents who send their children to that school expect them to be educated, and that includes learning things that may not be accepted by those parents. But other parents expect their kids to be educated fully, not partially because some of the books in the curriculum were banned by a parent with an objection. A solution to this is no bans, but permission slips. If parents dont want their kids to read a book, their children dont have to, but other people will have the opportunity to learn the material. This problem, while not very large now, can grow exponentially and lead to many problems. Censorship in schools of books is the first step to controlled learning, where the only thing that is taught in schools is what one group of people wants kids to know. As mentioned before, children are also going to start growing up not fully educated. This would cause them to get skewed perspective and biases, which would create problems; especially when it comes to issues that deal with discrimination, such as race and sexuality. The violation of the first amendment, too, is a problem that could grow into a much larger problem. The US has a history of suppressing this specific right, with laws about illegal speech spreading rapidly, and

cases such as the Sedition Acts. If censorship in public libraries is being widely accepted, then that is the first step towards government suppression of liberties. This issue of banning books is very large and has the potential to grow larger if nothing is done about it. There are thousands of libraries with banned books not in them, and have been for thousands of years. The ALA shouldnt ban books because of their educational value, the unconstitutionality, and the right of everyone to learn. Instead, they should let either the educators decide what books are taught, give parents permission slips for their children to read the books, or just let go of all control over what children read.