Finding freedom in the written word

Dawn Gilchrist-Young doesnt just read and teach books, she defends them.

As chair of the English department for Swain County High School, Gilchrist-Young is joining Banned Books Weeks, which is a nationwide celebration this week in honor of one of our greatest freedoms.

The freedom to read.

[The idea of banned books] means the constraining of ideas and thought, good or bad, based on rigid standards, whether liberal or conservative, therefore censorship ultimately means the constraining of human potential and the progression of thought, Gilchrist-Young said.

Protected by the First Amendment in the Bill of Rights, the freedom of the press remains one of the strongest and most controversial of the rules and regulations granted by the founding fathers. Over the long and bumpy road of challenged books, the list may surprise some with the titles held accountable, which include The Great Gatsby, The Catcher in the Rye, The Grapes of Wrath, To Kill a Mockingbird and Gone with the Wind, among others.

Freedom of the press and written word are so important. I think that most Americans understand the basic reasons for a free press, said Jeff Delfield, head librarian for the Marianna Black Library in Swain County. However, even those who would defend a free press will challenge library books. Theres a sort of disconnect, like Sure its OK for you to say or write this opinion you have, but its not OK for that opinion to end up inside a library.

According to the Library Bill of Rights (1939), the American Library Association states, Libraries should provide materials and information presenting all points of view on current and historical issues. Materials should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disapproval. Libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment.

As a librarian, Im a strong believer in the freedom to read, Delfield said. My job is not to provide the correct side of an issue but all sides. Its a readers job to decide whats correct for himself or herself.

Applying that philosophy to her bookstore, Allison Lee, the co-owner of Blue Ridge Books in Waynesville, believes the biggest concern with banning books is that it hinders education.

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Finding freedom in the written word