Last month, Townsend Harris held its fourth annual banned book read-in to honor national Banned Books Week. 

Banned Books Week was started by the American Library Association in 1982 in order to raise awareness about growing media censorship and to combat the removal of books in libraries and schools across America. Now, it’s become a THHS tradition for students to express appreciation for the freedom to read any book through a special schedule that provides students with one dedicated period for independent reading. 

During the independent reading band, THHS librarian Katherine Yan “went around with books to distribute to anyone, whether it’s a staff member or a student who didn’t have a book.”  

“My goal as a librarian is to put books in the hands of students that…appeal to them,” she said.

Freshman Julie Chen said, “I think [the read-in] helped me become more [open to] reading even though it’s not my favorite thing to do.” 

Freshman Nayyirah Dewan said“[I think] it was a good opportunity for me and [my] peers to catch up on reading…It gave [students and teachers] a chance for relaxation.” 

The Banned Book Read-In took place under a special schedule, with a double band two to allow students forty minutes to read their books.

English teacher Brian Brewer said he was happy to see that his students came to class already having their independent reading books, ready to read. “Everyone seemed to be engaged in reading,” Dr. Brewer said. “No one had their heads on the desk, no one was staring into space, everyone seemed really attuned to their books. Because I think they have been reading books that they’re already interested in so they got to continue that.

Junior Samiya Islam said she liked getting “a minute to relax” during the reading period. However, she said that she thinks there should be more teaching about the history of banned books to go alongside the reading period. “If they genuinely want to make the event more meaningful, they should create slides or a short lesson explaining why certain books were banned and the impact behind them,” she said. 

While one of the goals of Banned Books Week is to draw attention to censorship, a goal is also to encourage people to choose to read whatever interests them without fear of censorship. 

To spread awareness for future read-ins, Ms. Yan said she plans on sending out more information on the initiative and its significance nationwide. She hopes to continue to encourage anyone, “whether it’s a staff member or a student” to discover and read the books that they love. 

“As long as we’re all celebrating our right to read, I hope that students [can] read without the fear of judgement,” she said.