I do apologize this week’s post is going to be short, I have contracted influenza. This last week, Max and I visited the Nash library at our university, USAO, and visited with the library director and archivist Kelly Brown. During our discussion, Director Brown informed us that the only challenge she knew of was in an Edmund school district that had banned Romeo and Juliet, for the double suicide committed, by Romeo and Juliet towards the end of the play. She did not know of any other challenges within Oklahoma, however, she did direct us toward the American Library Association’s website, for the ALA keeps tabs on all book challenges across America.
In addition to being the Library Director, Ms. Brown is also USAO’s archivist, and she offered us interesting insight, as an archivist there is a biased in the work they do. It is their digression to determine what is included in the archive and what is not included.
Director Brown also had compelling viewpoint concerning censorship, Director Brown believes that there should not be any form of literary censorship and the banning of books. She believes that the individual should be able to read any book and come to their own conclusions and form their own ideas. After the interview, Director Brown directed us toward the library’s collections of books covering censorship and banned books. Several of the books Max did check out.
After scouring some sources Max and I did determine to cover a 1960s challenge of Catcher in the Rye, in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
The video below is the audio recording of our interview with Kelly Brown at Nash Library.