Word by Word

I thought I would tell a little tale in honor of the American Library Association’s Banned Books Week. In 8th grade I was lucky enough to be library aide for one period during my school day. Yes, that’s right, I spent my days putting protective sleeves on paperbacks, shelving books and reading the new selections received in the mail. It was Nirvana for a Junior High student.

One day, the librarian asked if I would serve on the Parent and Student Library Advisory Board. Hmmm? What is this advisory board? It was a group of teachers, parents and ONE student who met once a month to review requests for banning books from the library.

I was SHOCKED. People would ban books from the library? So, of course, I said yes.

Once a month my mom would drive me to the school where I would meet with a group of five to seven adults. We had all read the books in question and reviewed the application for removal from the library.

More than once I spoke up and the adults listened to me. Not once in my tenure with the Parent and Student Library Advisory Board did we remove a book from the library. Not on my watch!