Wasilla’s only book store is hosting an event for Banned Books Week to combat censorship in the Matanuska-Susitna Borough.
The American Library Association began promoting Banned Books Week in 1982, after a rise in book bans across the country.
The ACLU of Alaska and Out North Radio are co-hosting the event at Black Birch Books in Wasilla on Thursday afternoon from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. Black Birch Books owner Taylor Jordan has a section of banned books in her store, and said the event is a way to unite Mat-Su residents.
“It’s just kind of a way to bring people together and support literature in every way,” Jordan said. “There’s never really a reason to ban or censor a book, because the luxury of a book is, if you don’t like it, you can set it down, and you never had to pick it up in the first place.”
According to an index of school book bans from PEN America, book bans surged nationwide at the end of last year, often aimed at removing titles with LGBTQ+ characters from school libraries.
The Mat-Su has been at the center of dozens of book challenges. Last year, the Mat-Su Borough School District pulled 56 challenged books from shelves for review. A Library Citizens Advisory Committee then recommended that 19 books be permanently removed from Mat-Su school libraries. In August, a District Court Judge ordered all but seven of the challenged books be returned to shelves as part of an ongoing lawsuit against the district from the ACLU of Alaska on behalf of Mat-Su families.
The Mat-Su Borough followed the school district and established its own committee to review challenged books. Nan Potts sits on the committee. She’s not in favor of removing books from borough libraries entirely, but thinks books with adult themes should not be shelved in the young adult section.
“That’s just the bottom line, it’s inappropriate for young adults, and we’re talking young adults up to the age of 16,” Potts said. “These are not banned books. We look at: Is the book appropriate for the genre? Where should it go? And if it’s worth the taxpayers money to purchase these books.”
The committee has reviewed 2 out of 22 books recommended for reconsideration over three meetings. While the Mat-Su has seen the highest volume of book challenges, Anchorage, Homer and Ketchikan libraries have also handled challenges to controversial books in their collection.
Tim Rockey is the producer of Alaska News Nightly and covers education for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at trockey@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8487. Read more about Tim here.
