Challenge (literature)
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In literature, a challenge is an attempt by a person or group of people to have materials such as books removed from a library or from a school curriculum or otherwise restricted. Merely objecting to material is not a challenge without the attempt to remove or restrict access to those materials.[1]
A successful challenge would result in a banning and removal of those materials, a form of censorship.[2]
Challenges are often brought by parent wishing to protect their children from content that they deem to be inappropriate or offensive. However, under an interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights, "Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents — and only parents — have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children — and only their children — to library resources."[3]
The American Library Association believe that it is important to monitor challenges made to books as well as actual bannings since a challenge may lead to voluntary restriction of expression by those seeking to avoid controversy.[4]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Censorship and Challenges
- ^ Support for Dealing with or Reporting Challenges to Library Materials
- ^ Banned Books Week: Background
- ^ Books Challenged or Banned in 2006-2007, Robert P. Doyle, American Library Association
