9-08-2023 1:43pm

Book Banning Attempts on the Rise - New Mexico Book Burning and Ban Attempts

Chris Edwards Editor

Banned Book week 2023, will be celebrated October 1st through 7th of October nationwide.

The Alamogordo Public Library traditionally joins libraries across the nation that spotlights those books that have been banned over the years. The staff is well informed of challenges from across the nation and is happy to educate anyone willing to learn more about the topic.

In a time of intense political polarization, library staff in every state are facing an unprecedented number of attempts to ban books. The American Library Association Office for Intellectual Freedom ALA documented 1,269 demands to censor library books and resources in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling data about censorship in libraries more than 20 years ago. The unparalleled number of reported book challenges in 2022 nearly doubles the 729 book challenges reported in 2021. Of the record 2,571 unique titles targeted for censorship, most were by or about LGBTQIA+ persons and Black, Indigenous, and people of color.

The theme for Banned Books Week 2023 in October is "Let Freedom Read." When we ban books, we're closing off readers to people, places, and perspectives. But when we stand up for stories, we unleash the power that lies inside every book. We liberate the array of voices that need to be heard and the scenes that need to be seen. Let freedom read!

A record 2,571 unique titles were targeted for censorship, a 38% increase over the 1,858 unique titles targeted for censorship in 2021. 58% of the reported book challenges targeted books and materials in school libraries, classroom libraries or school curricula; 41% of book challenges targeted materials in public libraries.

The prevalent use of lists of books compiled by organized censorship groups contributed significantly to the skyrocketing number of challenges and the frequency with which each title was challenged. Of the overall number of books challenged, 90% were part of attempts to censor multiple titles.

12% were in cases involving 2 - 9 books
38% were in cases involving 10 - 99 books
40% were in cases involving 100 or more books

Prior to 2021, the vast majority of challenges to library resources only sought to remove or restrict access to a single book.

Locally, according to an article by Nicole Maxwell in the Alamogordo Daily News dated September 22, 2022: Alamogordo Public Library Youth Services Librarian Ami Jones keeps a spreadsheet of banned or challenged books from across the country that has almost 1,500 entries of juvenile and young adult books.

There have not been any formal challenges to books in Alamogordo in recent years.

"Occasionally, I have parents who bring me a book and say, 'Oh, I don't think this book is for children,'" Jones said. "What we usually come around and say is they don't feel it's right for their children which is absolutely fine. Parents absolutely have the right to decide what is best for their minor children to read. They just don't have the right to decide what other people's children can read."

Last year, the Alamogordo Public Library celebrated Banned Books week with displays featuring books that have either been banned or challenged in the U.S. We can count on dialog and discussion around the issue as we inch closer to the ALA annual event for 2023.

Below are some examples of acts of book banning close to home or by authors close to home. Locals that have lived in Alamogordo a long time remember the book burning controversy that occurred in 2001.

As hundreds protested nearby, a church group burned Harry Potter and other books. Jack Brock, the Christ Community Church founder and pastor, said the books burned Sunday were "a masterpiece of satanic deception."

"These books teach children how they can get into witchcraft and become a witch, wizard or warlock," Brock said. Members sang "Amazing Grace" as they threw Potter books, plus some other books and magazines, into the fire.

Across the street, protesters chanting "Stop burning books" stretched in a line a quarter of a mile long.

"It may be useless but we want (the church) to know the community is not behind them," said a local resident who protested with her four grandchildren at the time in 2001. That extreme case garnered national attention.

Other examples nearby include:

New Mexico author Anaya's work is number 75 on the list of most frequently challenged books. Banned from Bloomfield, NM high school where a school board member at the time remarked "We took the books out and personally saw they were burned."

The book was also banned from the Orestimba High School’s English classes in Newman, Calif. after complaints that the book is profane and anti-Catholic. A Superintendent of the Norwood (Colorado) High School banned the book for its profanity even though he admits he never read it.

In October 2013 the parent of an Alamogordo High School student complained the novel Neverwhere by Neil Gaam was 'inappropriate' for teens and the book was removed from the school's classrooms and the "required reading list." The book remained available in the school library and after a review process the following month was determined to be "educational suitable, balanced, and age-appropriate for high school students.”

The states with the most incidents of banning are Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania and Tennessee, according to an updated report released by PEN America, a group that is dedicated to fighting book bans and advocates for the First Amendment. Overall, there were 2,571 incidents of banning across the United States.

New Mexico doesn’t often give in to book banning but it does happen sometimes.

The Author, Anaya, during a press interview with Marisa Demarco of Source NM, reportedly dug through a box and pulled out an Albuquerque Journal clipping from the year the journalist was born. The state’s Legislature in 1981 was considering standards for books in public schools.

Per the article; Sen. Christine Donisthorpe (R-San Juan) announced during a hearing that the Bloomfield School Board ordered Bless Me, Ultima to be burned. Donisthorpe was a member of that school board. She’s quoted as saying members personally ensured copies of the novel were lit on fire.

Since the burning was in his home state, “that was the most traumatic,” he said. “That’s pretty extreme dictatorship.”

The author Anaya said that “when schools trash those novels, they’re telling students who are represented in those books that they don’t matter.”

… He can imagine how the students in Arizona must have felt after the school board sent the message: This literature is not worthy of study. “It’s telling them: You are not worthy.”

The study of culture profits all students regardless of ethnicity, he said. “We have to live together. Isn’t knowing about each other better than not knowing? Resentment and prejudice come when we don’t know.”

The assault on books is an ongoing battle in April of 2023 Rio Rancho residents pleaded with the city council to ban books that they find offensive from the public library.

It was made clear by councilors and the city manager during the public comment session of the April 13 meeting that there was no item about the banning of books and there isn’t one in the works yet either. To date there has been no ban there.

Book banning and the rising challenges do not simply involve a person expressing a point of view; rather, they are an attempt to remove material from the curriculum or library, thereby restricting the access of others. As such, they are a threat to freedom of speech and choice." Book banning is on the rise as is censorship, nationalism and the extremism. There is a direct link to each. Take the time to discuss the topic with family and friends and let’s ensure as we participate in upcoming elections we elect candidates that allow access and freedom to ring, in the libraries, in the schools and thought out the land.