Books in a Democratic Society

Books have played a vital role in our democracy—not only by spreading the notion of democracy itself but also by disseminating ideas that inspire people to drive change. For example, Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin sparked outrage over slavery, helping to end the institution in the 1860s. Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring exposed the perils of the pesticide industry in the 1960s, prompting the American public to demand reform. And Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma has people thinking about the ethical and nutritional issues connected with factory farming and buying more locally raised meats and vegetables. Books have enabled people to share ideas freely, discuss those ideas’ merits and flaws, and make informed choices—all key elements in any democracy. Indeed, the ability to write whatever one wants has its very roots in our founding documents: Amendment I of the U.S. Constitution’s Bill of Rights guarantees freedom of the press.

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Banned Books Week is an event sponsored by the American Library Association to raise awareness of challenges to reader freedoms and attempts to ban books.
Reprinted by permission of the American Library Association

Though books have long played this crucial role and will continue to do so, they face several challenges that threaten to dilute their impact. These challenges include the persistence of censorship, the decline of bookstores and libraries, and the loss of old books to physical deterioration.

Censorship

Throughout human history, rulers intent on maintaining their power have censored or banned books to prevent people from learning about alternative ideas and ways of living. For example, in various parts of the world, some versions of the Bible, Karl Marx’s Das Kapital (1867), The Autobiography of Malcolm X (1965), and Salman Rushdie’s The Satanic Verses (1989) have all been banned at one time or another. (For more on banned books, see “Media Literacy Case Study: Banned Books and ‘Family Values’”.)

In the United States, censorship and book banning are illegal. But citizens can sometimes force the removal of a particular book from public or school libraries if enough people file a formal complaint—a book challenge—about subject matter they find objectionable. The American Library Association (ALA) compiles a list of the most challenged books in the United States. Common reasons for challenges include sexually explicit passages, offensive language, occult themes, violence, homosexual themes, promotion of a religious viewpoint, nudity, and racism. The ALA defends the right of libraries to offer material with a wide range of views and does not support removing books on the basis of partisan or doctrinal disapproval.

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This tension between citizens’ desire to suppress printed materials they find objectionable and the desire to uphold freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution has long characterized our democracy—and will likely continue to do so.

Decline of Bookstores and Libraries

As we enter the digital age, many bookstores are closing, from the small, independent stores to even the megachains that once threatened smaller stores. Bookstores of all shapes and sizes can offer more than sales: book clubs, author readings, and other live events, as well as a general sense of community. Though their aim is more commercial, many bookstores have taken on a role once assigned to public libraries: as social gathering spaces for readers. But just as libraries now face slashed budgets, many bookstores find it difficult to compete with the discounts of online retailers or the convenience of e-books. In many cases, a customer choosing a local bookstore over online options will essentially mean agreeing to pay a higher price to support the face-to-face social interaction of brick-and-mortar bookstores.

Physical Deterioration

Many older books, especially those from the nineteenth century printed on acid-based paper, gradually deteriorate. To prevent loss of the knowledge in these books, research libraries have built climate-controlled depositories for older books that have permanent research value. Also, recent projects by Xerox and Cornell University have produced electronic copies of old books through computer scanning.

The Google Books Library Project represents a similar effort. Begun in 2004, the project features partnerships with the New York Public Library and several major university research libraries to scan millions of books and make them available online and searchable through Google. The Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers initially resisted having Google digitize books without permission. Google responded that displaying only a limited portion of the books was legal under “fair use” rules. After years of legal battles, a U.S. Court of Appeals sided with Google’s fair-use argument in 2013 and dismissed the lawsuit. The Authors Guild vowed to appeal the decision. An alternative group, the Open Content Alliance, was dissatisfied with the Google Books Library Project’s intent to restrict scanned book content to Google’s search service. In 2007, the alliance started a competing nonprofit service that partners with the Boston Public Library, several New England university libraries, and Yahoo! to digitize millions of books with expired copyrights and make them freely available through the Internet Archive.

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Censorship, the decline of bookstores and libraries, and the physical deterioration of books all present daunting challenges to books as a mass medium essential to our democracy. But like other mass media, books—and the people who love them—have adapted as needed to keep this medium alive and vital. Witness the proliferation of book groups, the greater array of formats through which books are now available, and the power of a writer like J.K. Rowling to resurrect a passion for reading in children and adults alike. The ultimate value of books is their ability to encourage the exchange and exploration of ideas. Clearly, they are still serving this purpose—despite the challenges and changes that have reshaped this oldest of media.

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