{"id":16603,"date":"2017-02-22T17:11:46","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T22:11:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=16603"},"modified":"2017-03-01T17:38:58","modified_gmt":"2017-03-01T22:38:58","slug":"savour-some-forbidden-fruit-during-freedom-to-read-week","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/savour-some-forbidden-fruit-during-freedom-to-read-week\/","title":{"rendered":"Savour some \u201cforbidden fruit\u201d during Freedom to Read week"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir
\n<\/strong>
\nWhat are the first images that come to mind when you think about the freedom to read?
\nChances are you have images of banned \u2013 or burned \u2013 books going through your mind, but as the world evolves, so too does the concept.
\nSunday, February 26 marks the start of Freedom to Read Week and the Aurora Public Library (APL) is encouraging you to pick up a story someone else has tried to keep from you. In this day and age, however, freedom to read goes well beyond a book which may or may not be on a shelf.
\n\u201cWe used to just talk about Freedom to Read in terms of books, but now we\u2019re really talking about Freedom of Expression,\u201d says APL\u2019s Reccia Mandelcorn. \u201cThe whole concept has gone beyond straight books and into journalism and into the internet. We\u2019re really talking about Freedom of Information.
\n\u201cFor libraries, publishers and authors, it I primarily books, but with journalism with everything that is going on in the news these days, and the fact communication extends beyond book form now, it is a much larger issue. For me, it is an expression of our freedoms to be able to communicate, to be able to enjoy within the limits of the law, but we also have to be very wary, especially in this day and age, of an agenda that takes away freedoms possibly within the law.\u201d
\nEach year around this time, Ms. Mandelcorn says she celebrates Freedom to Read Week \u201cby reading somebody wanted to keep away from me,\u201d but if you don\u2019t know where to start in terms of finding a story someone wanted to keep away from you, APL has put together a good primer.
\nIn the showcase near the main entrance to the Library, visitors can see a vast selection of books that were, at one time or another, challenged at libraries and school boards across Canada.
\nOne such volume is \u201cThe Wars\u201d by Timothy Findlay which, despite racking up numerous prestigious awards, was challenged for its depiction of war, brutality and sex. Another, Mordecai Richler\u2019s \u201cThe Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz\u201d faced challenges due to \u201cvulgar expressions and sexuality in the text.\u201d
\nSome challenged books might surprise you.
\nIf you think everyone enjoys the books by renowned Canadian children\u2019s author Robert Munch? Think again. According to Ms. Mandelcorn, he is a contender for one of the most challenged Canadian authors out there.
\nA seasonal favourite, \u201cThomas\u2019 Snowsuit\u201d received a couple of complaints because it shows Thomas standing up to his principal and, in a novel twist, because \u201cit promoted cross-dressing.\u201d
\nClose to home, Deborah Ellis\u2019 book \u201cThree Wishes: Palestinian and Israeli Children Speak\u201d received a challenge at the York Region District School Board and was removed from school libraries. In response, the APL stocked up.
\n\u201cThey felt that talking about children in the middle of war was too violent and too political for children, but how are we going to teach children about the importance of working towards peace and understanding what someone on the other side is going through if we don\u2019t talk to them?\u201d says Ms. Mandelcorn. \u201cThat is one of the fabulous things about books: we\u2019re able to use books as a tool to generate conversation, and what better place than in a library, or in the classroom or at home?\u201d
\nWith uncertainty in so many parts of the world, Ms. Mandelcorn says Freedom to Read Week is more relevant than ever.
\n\u201cMy big fear is in many countries we are seeing a very right wing agenda,\u201d she says. \u201cWe have been very complacent in Canada. We haven\u2019t had real book banning, but we have had challenges. We have had very supportive arts groups and literary groups and, for the most part, our governments have been quite supportive. When we look at the world around us, do we really sit back and say we\u2019re pretty free with expression?\u201d
\nRecently, APL received an email from the Canadian Federation of Library Associations asking them, among others, to report back on any attempts they have encountered with regards to censorship and challenges. This year, the call included censorship towards materials, resources, services, policies, disputes over internet access, meeting rooms, guest speakers, exhibits, and \u201canything that prevents or restricts access to freedom.\u201d
\n\u201cThis is the first time I have ever seen it written out so expansively,\u201d she says. \u201cTo me, it is a wakeup call for all of us that we need to cherish what we have worked for and we can\u2019t be complacent and let it slip away.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"2017-02-23-02\"<\/p>\n\"Facebook\"<\/a>\"twitter\"<\/a>\"mail\"<\/a>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Brock Weir What are the first images that come to mind when you think about the freedom to read? Chances are you have images of banned \u2013 or burned \u2013 books going through your mind, but as the world evolves, so too does the concept. Sunday, February 26 marks the start of Freedom to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":16587,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16603","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general_news","category-news"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/2017-02-23-01.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-4jN","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-14 08:38:26","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16603","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16603"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16603\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16587"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16603"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16603"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16603"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}