It’s here! The 9th annual Banned Book Week rolls into the Andrew L. Bouwhuis Library this week with a distinctly seasonal flavor…election. At the core of the library profession is intellectual freedom – the right of free expression, including freedom to read, seek and access information. Join the librarians and staff of the ALB Library as they welcome you, and especially, “Whistle Stop — the best pre- (and post) debate party in town.”
Monday September 26, 11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. – Marching Toward Suffrage
Students from the Women and Gender Studies and All-College Honors programs travelled to Seneca Falls, NY this past weekend to visit the Women’s Rights National Historical Park and National Women’s Hall of Fame. Students will share their experiences about the brave women and men who formed the 1848 Women’s Rights Convention that led to the passage of the 19th Amendment ensuring women the right to vote. For more information on the National Park Service, click here.
Monday September 26, 12:00 – 3:00 p.m. – He Named Me Malala will be available for viewing in the Library Learning Center, located on the first floor. The documentary film tells the story of the young Pakistani female activist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, who has spoken out for the rights of girls, especially the right to education, since she was very young.
Tuesday, September 27, 1:00 – 3:00 p.m. – WHISTLE STOP
Megan Kemple (poet/actor), Ben Brindise (member of Buffalo’s award-winning #PureInkPoetry slam team), Justin Karcher (Tailgating at the Gates of Hell) and Pat Kewley (published in Salon, Slate, and McSweeney’s), will read from important historically banned or censored works before reading some of their own works in the event WHISTLE STOP.
Aidan Ryan, ’14, adjunct professor of English and founding partner of Foundlings poetry magazine, will lead the discussion. Included will be presidential haiku, protest poetry, original verse, punk rock and riffs on the Founding Fathers’ street ball slam-dunking skills.
The event is sponsored by Foundlings and is free and open to the public.
Friday, September 30, 12:00 – 1:00 p.m. – Griff 101: Young Adult Literature… Looking for Alaska…
Librarian Jessie Blum, librarian research and instruction coordinator at the ALB, will lead this discussion of Looking for Alaska… the number one Banned Book for 2015. Need more? Fifty Shades of Grey and I Am Jazz, numbers two and three on the list, respectively, will also be discussed. The Holy Bible, which ranks number six will round out the event. The discussion is free and open to the public.
Other on-goings throughout the week will include displays such as Censoring History – Found in the Archives (ALB second floor); Spontaneous Noon-Time Read Outs; Elizabeth Leader’s outstanding exhibit “Discarded Ancestors” in the Peter A. and Mary Lou Vogt Art Gallery; and a week-long contest, “Why Would Anyone Want to Ban a Book?” Stop by the Library’s Service Desk for an entry form. Watch the library homepage for more surprises http://library.canisius.edu/
See the most recent list of the most challenged and banned books here: http://www.ala.org/bbooks/frequentlychallengedbooks/top10
For more information, contact Kathleen DeLaney, archivist and special collections librarian, at Ext. 8421 or delaneyk@canisius.edu.
Submitted by: Kathleen DeLaney, archivist and special collections librarian