Censorship manifests in different ways in the classroom, one of the most prominent being banned books, originating as early as 1960 when an Oklahoma teacher was fired due to assigning a book with “questionable content.”

Sept. 18-24 is the significant week known as “Banned Book Week,” and many institutions are bringing awareness to the subject. 

Central Hardin is amongst the many as a banned book display is showcased in the library.

“Readers need the option to have intellectual freedom, to read what they want and not have somebody have a say over that,” librarian Sarah Bauer said.

Bauer emphasized that the library belongs to the students, giving them the power to make decisions about what books they read. 

Student representation in books is something that books on the banned list tend to highlight, continuing to ban these titles weakens the ability for students to see themselves in books. 

“We want to provide those materials to students so that they feel included, and this library is the students’ library,” Bauer said. “We want them to see a representation of themselves and their experiences.”

Importantly, Bauer wants students to grow their knowledge of content that they might not have been previously exposed to. 

“Learn about different things, different ideas that you may not be exposed to and it opens up an opportunity to say ‘Hey, I never thought of something that way’ or ‘Even though I’ve never experienced that, I now understand that somebody else does.”