Now that President Donald J. Trump has been inaugurated into office, Project 2025 is soon to begin. One of the biggest policies coming with this project is a book ban that affects public and school libraries. Thousands of books are being removed from these locations for being too political or revolving around sensitive topics. Not only would this book ban affect the libraries, but readers worldwide, as now instead of getting books for free, they would have to pay for a book the government chose to remove.
With this ban, there is much controversy among the reading community. Books are not only a way for people to escape into a stress-free world but are also a valuable part of history. Since books are such a valuable part of history, removing certain books by banning them acts as a way to cover up an important part of someone’s work; they could be valuable lessons that others can learn from. Much of the controversy over this topic comes to the book itself being banned. Many of these books to be banned are labeled as “too political,” as the content inside indirectly ‘attacks’ the U.S. Government. Or they contain controversial content (for certain audiences), such as the LGBTQ+ community, mental health issues, sexual assault, and much more.
“The worst ones are just ridiculous, and those are the ones for anything related to historic events. These books help tell history and they are banned exactly for those reasons, which is something straight out of a dystopian novel,” Shivani Medavarapu (9) said.
With this book ban, there are a variety of popular and well known books being removed from book shelves everywhere. Books that are being banned include: “The Diary of a Young Girl,” “The Perks of Being A Wallflower,” “Animal Farm,” “The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Red White and Royal Blue,” and “Fahrenheit 451.” These books are among some of the most popular being banned out of thousands. Not only are some of these books classics that show us what others went through, but some of these books could become classics for the next generation.
“Deep and pensive books, like ‘The Book Thief’ and ‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower,’ are getting banned. These books have themes of growing up and war and other issues, but [they] are also thoughtful experiences for readers. This is history and something you can’t change or get rid of, no matter how much one may try,” Shrika Miriyala (9) said.
With this book ban, it not only bans books for adult readers but has a large impact on students. Libraries are a place where students get books often, but their options will become limited with the ban. Plus, parents also have control over what their child may be reading, which could be expected, yet can harm the child’s involvement in reading as they would be left with something they wouldn’t be interested in.
“I don’t think that books should be banned like this,” English 9 teacher Mrs. Jessica Mensen said. “When picking the book, you should be able to gauge how you feel reading a certain book and if it makes you uncomfortable, put it down.”
With this book ban, there is not much many readers can do to eliminate this dreadful process. However, with proper protest and change, these books may be seen again for any reader to enjoy during any time of their life.
