By Grace Lawson
The issues and impacts of book bans across the United States was addressed in the panel, “Celebrate Our Freedom to Read,” on Sept. 23 at 7 p.m. in the Long Beach State University Library.
Held by author Elena K. Arnold and faculty member Lindsay Perez Huber, the panel spoke to a multitude of students, Long Beach residents and faculty.
The audience sat with intrigue as the panelists discussed their knowledge and beliefs of the harmful nature of book bans and the erasure of representation in the media.
“We know that there’s all kinds of positive effects of seeing yourself represented in books, and so I think that’s important to think about why that’s being taken away,” Huber said.
Since 1982, the American Library Association has recognized Sept. 22-28 as Banned Books Week annually.
Though this is only the panel’s second year, the CSULB Associate Librarian for Children and Young Adult Literature, Cathy Outten, said the library plans on continuing it every year.
“Under our new deanship, we’re trying to have more programs here at the library,” Outten said. “So yeah, just getting people together and talking about this issue.”.
Throughout the panel, engaged audience members asked questions and weighed in on their shared thoughts and feelings about what effects banning books has on children and school districts alike.
Contributing from the audience was Daniella Pardo, a third year English literature student.
Pardo said that the ongoing discourse with book bans has felt prevalent to them, and that literature is a huge part of culture, society and mass media opinion.
“Literature is one of the first things that shape the ways you think, other than your family life,” Pardo said. “So people can see themselves reflected not only in literature but also everyday life, and have their experiences reflected through literature because that really helps shape a child’s self image.”
The importance of reading and seeing yourself emulated in literature was a major topic at the panel. The panel discussed the idea that the exposure also opens readers to the experiences and perspectives of others.
Author Elena K. Arnold spoke heavily on the topic of how book banning creates a barrier where people of color and those that are a part of the LGBTQIA+ communities cannot have their lived experiences shared, and children are shut off from the opportunity to explore that.
“A book’s job is [that] it’s a piece of art,” Arnold said. “The writer is trying to make sense of what they believe it is to be a human, and a book is their way of doing that.”
