Josh Sarl, sports editor

Has anyone watched those PSA’s that were aired in the early 2000s from the Ad Council’s “Campaign for Freedom”? I am particularly referring to the library scene, where a customer requests a certain book, only for the librarian to cautiously let him know that the book he required was not available for lending. The librarian eerily asks for the customer’s name, who is then apprehended by two suited gentlemen. If you have not seen it, I suggest you do and ask yourself whether or not the action on-screen is indicative of a free and intellectually progressive society.

This seems like a far-off nightmare, right? Apparently not; according to the Office for Intellectual Freedom, a branch of the American Library Association (ALA), which “tracked 821 attempts to censor library materials and services” in 2024. Out of these instances, 2,452 titles were challenged. The ALA clarifies that “a challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict access to materials or services based upon the objections of a person or group.” This could be through restrictive state legislation, which often denies library workers from purchasing certain titles, or through the underreporting of censorship due to the risks it may pose to professional careers. 

Luckily for us Augsburg students, this harrowing situation seems far off (for now, at least), thanks to the efforts of the Lindell Library and the ALA. As part of the ALA’s “Banned Books Week,” established in 1982, the Lindell Library is offering students the chance to vote for their favorite titles amongst the banned bunch. On speaking to Kira Cronin-Hennessy and Megan Schierenbeck, two librarians at Lindell, I got a better idea of why this event is so important for our community at Augsburg. Megan explained that the event aims to “raise awareness on some of the challenges that come to different libraries.” Kira also pointed out, on a lighter note, that “there are prizes to win and books that you can check out for free.” 

Megan urges students to “look at some of the reasons why these books have been challenged” and asks us “whether you agree with those reasons, or whether you think there is a good reason for the book to be restricted.” This is an important note. In order to truly mediate freedom of speech, we must be able to form our own educated opinions on certain topics. By having free access to these titles, we are able to engage in our own critical thinking and better act as informed stewards of debate. It is not necessarily the case that we have to agree with everything that a text is proposing, but we must have the freedom to be able to engage with the text and constructively shape our own opinions. 

When these texts are threatened with censorship, we are at risk of being subjected to the very horrors that many of them warn against. Kira’s favorite text from the display is “A Handmaid’s Tale,” and Megan’s is “The Bluest Eye.” What will yours be?