Lasting from Oct. 5-11, Banned Books Week was founded in 1982 as a response to the surge in book bans across the U.S. To the West High Banned Book Club, this week serves as an opportunity to inform the community about the severity of book bans and just why the issue matters.
Throughout September, Banned Book Club members worked on creating library displays for the Coralville, Iowa City and North Liberty Public Libraries. This year’s theme, “Books Behind Bars,” features decorations such as foam cell bars, inked-out book pages and chains made out of hair ties. While the club was only able to have a display at one library last year, they have since taken strides to spread their message throughout the Iowa City metro area, a proud achievement according to Alice Gooblar-Perovic ’27, one of the leaders of Banned Book Club.
“Having displays at three libraries was a big change from last year. It allowed us to be more visible in our community and hopefully reach a broader audience,” Gooblar-Perovic said. “Now we can bring awareness to more people in the larger Iowa City area. It was more work for sure, but it’s so important to us to interact more with the community, especially because of the current political discussions happening in the United States. It’s more important now than ever to educate people on the dangers of book banning and censorship, and it’s part of our mission to try to bring more awareness and understanding about that issue to our community — especially younger people.”
Along with spreading awareness, Gooblar-Perovic highlights how display creation allowed members to bond with each other in a new way. Through making the displays during club meetings and AFT sessions, club members had an opportunity to get to know each other and connect over a shared passion.
“It was really cool to see how much fun it was for our members to put together the displays and set them up at the libraries. It was a great experience and we all had a lot of fun,” Gooblar-Perovic said. “I liked seeing some of our newest members working together with the older members to not only create these displays but also learn more about banned books in general.”
To support the Banned Book Club, check out the displays at the Iowa City Public Library, Coralville Public Library or North Liberty Public Library. All three displays will be up for the remainder of October.
