Banned Book Week in Oregon begins

(Greetings to C&L visitors, and thanks to Batocchio for the link!)

Every year at this time, the Oregon ACLU, with the Oregon Library Association, celebrate banned books. And what better way to kick things off than with this tribute to possibly the last American heroes:

I want to congratulate librarians, not famous for their physical strength, their powerful political connections or great wealth, who, all over this country, have staunchly resisted anti-democratic bullies who have tried to remove certain books from their shelves, and destroyed records rather than have to reveal to the thought police the names of persons who have checked out those titles.

So the America I loved still exists, if not in the White House, the Supreme Court, the Senate, the House of Representatives, or the media. The America I loved still exists at the front desks of our public libraries.

Kurt Vonnegut

A Man Without a Country

And here's a cool thing: Oregon.gov -- that's right, the government's own web page -- has an Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse featuring advice on what to do if a library patron challenges a book. One more reason I'm so fond of my adopted home state.

Update: Almost forgot the button!