Kids with cellphones make book bans pointless. So why is censorship raging in the U.S.?

With so many books accessible on cellphones and other electronic devices, the rabid push to ban hard copies in schools across the country is astonishing.

Students who might not have known a certain book existed will have their interest piqued as soon as it is labeled controversial.

If teens really want to read a restricted book, they likely will find a way to read it — most likely online. Websites like the Open Library make it easy even if students don’t have access to a library in their own communities.

Book bans aren’t all that effective in the digital age, but such restrictive efforts are escalating nationwide anyway. In fact, the number of attempts to keep certain titles off school shelves is at the highest point in decades.

The American Library Association has documented 681 challenges to books in schools through August of this year, involving 1,651 different titles.

Last year, the ALA listed 729 challenges, directed at 1,579 books. So it’s a sure bet this year’s censorship efforts will surpass last year.

Book bans are nothing new, but to compare, between 2018 and 2020 the number of efforts to restrict books in school libraries fluctuated between the high 200s and high 400s, according to the Washington Post.

In the past, it was usually a parent or a small group who would want books restricted in their children’s school.

Now, the increased demand to remove books is often fueled by organizations and politicians.

Several states have passed legislation restricting books at public schools, or have bills in the works that would do the same. They include Florida, Utah, Missouri, Texas, Tennessee and Oklahoma.

An elementary school teacher from Tennessee’s TikTok video went viral after she recorded herself — on a Saturday — cataloging all the books in her classroom. A new Tennessee law requires that all books in public schools have to be on an approved list and available to parents.

Fortunately, in the Tri-Cities we have yet to see a highly organized book banning effort targeting our schools.

We also have great public libraries — the Richland Public Library and the Mid-Columbia Libraries.

And as it happens, Mid-Columbia Libraries is bravely marking Banned Books Week by holding an out-loud reading marathon from some of the books that have been banned elsewhere but remain in its collection.

The event is 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24, at the main Kennewick branch on Union Street. Passages from banned books will be read by citizens every 15 minutes.

As of this writing, there were two spots available if anyone else would like to participate.

The banned books include classics like “To Kill a Mockingbird,” “1984,” and “Slaughterhouse-Five,” as well as children’s books such as “Where the Sidewalk Ends,” and “SkippyJon Jones.”

Also on the list is “The Hate U Give,” by Angie Thomas and “The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian” by Seattle author Sherman Alexie. Both were among the most challenged books in 2021.

The variety is telling. If one book is banned, then all are at risk.

Parents absolutely have the right to forbid their children from reading books they don’t approve of. And they should be aware of what their kids are reading in school and should work with school officials if they have concerns.

But that doesn’t mean they have the right to determine what other students read.

Haley Cole, a customer service representative helping create the banned books event, told the Herald that the Mid-Columbia Library supports all individuals’ right to “choose and read or not read a particular book as well as their right to voice concern over a particular title.”

But materials should not be excluded from the collection because of the origin, background or views of those creating them, she said. “The libraries believe books help reach across boundaries and build connections among different readerships, while censorship creates barriers,” Cole said.

And when it comes to teenagers, restricting books usually backfires.

Adults who want to keep a particular book hidden by banning it, in reality, end up shining a spotlight on it. Forbidding a book is a sure way to make kids want to read it.