Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools this week quietly told librarians not to explicitly observe Banned Books Week in school — again.
The last week in September is Banned Books Week, a national initiative launched in 1982 that’s intended to draw attention to the harms of censorship and highlight “the value of free and open access to information,” according to the event’s website.
The American Library Association uses the week to educate the general public about historic attempts to censor books and to celebrate the freedom to read. Schools and libraries around the country, including in CMS, have held events and created library displays in the past marking the event and informing readers about the dangers of censorship. Last year, a public relations fiasco prompted Charlotte Mecklenburg Schools to walk back a directive prohibiting schools from observing the week…