Every year there are hundreds of books that get challenged and brought to attention for inappropriate material. A lot of times those books may be banned from schools. September 27−October 3, 2015 is when this year’s “Banned Books Week” will be taking place.

          Banned books week is a celebration that calls attention to all books being challenged or banned as well as celebrates the freedom to read whatever you want. So what does banned books week mean to Gina Bernacchi, former HR English teacher and new HRHS librarian? Bernacchi said, “ Banned books week means to me that it’s a celebration of our freedom to read whatever we want to read.”

         How is HR celebrating banned books week? “I did a display about banned books and some of the books that have been challenged or banned and the reasons why. I also put together a read aloud video that people can view in the library all week where staff and students are reading aloud from banned or challenged books. That’s just a way to call attention to these books.It lets people see that there’s more to the book than just what people are challenging,” said school librarian Mrs. Bernacchi.

        Every year many books are challenged and this is how HR’s librarian Mrs. Bernacchi feels about it, “It doesn’t really affect me personally because I read whatever I want to read. I let my own children read whatever they want to read, but professionally as a librarian, I want to encourage students to read as much as possible. If I have to worry that someone is going to be offended by the language in a book or the content of the book or the themes, I think that really limits what I encourage students to read.”

Gabriel Meza, Staff Reporter