“Banned Bookmobile” visits Pendleton High School

Effort brings awareness to Banned Books Week.

Reading certain books put Pendleton High School students in “jail” on Tuesday to bring awareness to Banned Books Week.

With bars on the windows and “wanted posters,” the Pendleton Mobile Library became the “Banned Bookmobile” for the day and made a special visit to the high school. About 120 students in the junior and senior English classes had the chance to tour the Banned Bookmobile.

"My students truly enjoyed their visit to the 'Banned Bookmobile' as it sparked interest in many. The first question after the visit was 'Will we read any books that are or have been banned?' My response: Absolutely! Many seemed genuinely excited and eager to read these novels because they have a history of being banned in different communities since publication," English teacher Mike Bittorf said.. "The Banned Bookmobile is a valuable concept as it engages and educates students to the reality of the seriousness of challenged and banned books."

The Pendleton Public Library launched the Mobile Library late last year, and Pendleton Public Library Director Jennifer Costley said this is the first year the vehicle has been available to start conversations about Banned Books Week.

“Part of what we’re doing today is pointing out it’s not always the books you think that are banned or challenged,” she said. “Some of the teachers were really surprised to see ‘The Art of Racing in the Rain’ on the list this year. A lot of the kids got a kick out of ‘The Lorax’ being on there.”

Banned Books Week was launched in 1982 in response to a sudden surge in the number of challenges to books in libraries, bookstores, and schools. The 2023 Banned Books Week is Oct. 1-7 with a theme of “Let Freedom Read!”

Before a book is banned, it is challenged. A challenge is an attempt to remove or restrict materaisl based upon the objections of a person or group. Challenges are reviewed by the agency and then the title is retained, restricted or removed from the collection. Books that are removed from circulation based on a challenge are considered banned.

The Oregon Intellectual Freedom Clearinghouse (OIFC) collects reports about challenges to

materials, services, and programs in Oregon libraries and schools. In its annual report, OIFC reported challenges to 93 titles in Oregon libraries between June 30, 2022, and July 1, 2023. The OIFC said the number of challenges is a historic high.

Costley pointed out most of the challenged books were retained.

“Out of the ones that were challenged this year, only a handful of books were actually removed from their libraries, and those were removed for the condition of the book, not because of the challenge,” she said. “Most bas in the state of Oregon ultimately fail, but there are always quite a few under review.”

More information about Banned Books Week is available at https://bannedbooksweek.org/ . For more information about the Pendleton Mobile Library and its upcoming stops, visit https://pendleton.or.us/library/page/mobile-library

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- Oct. 4, 2023