Social Work junior Jasmine Webber is committed to substance use issues and prevention in her education. But she recently took an interest in banned books and assisted with Columbia College Library’s banned books project. We caught up with her to find out more on her volunteerism.
- Can you tell us more about the Banned Books project?
The banned books project is intended to highlight commonly banned books as described by the American Library Association. The project includes everything from children’s books to literary classics.
- What motivated you to get involved?
I got involved because I love books, and I believe they offer a lot of important insight. I understand there are difficult topics in these titles, but I don’t believe censorship is the answer. It’s very important to keep open conversations about these difficult topics.
- How does social work practice and ethics fit in with banned books?
Social workers should be concerned about book bans because it challenges our ethical standards. These titles display diversity, human relationships, and social justice issues and how they affect people. It is our job as social workers to help the people in our care, and this includes talking about difficult issues that affect them. We always say as social workers it is our job to project the voices of people who go unheard, and promoting diversity in media is an incredible way to do this.
- What has been the most rewarding part of volunteering on this project?
The most rewarding part of this project has been knowing I am contributing to reducing stigma about banned books. I have always loved to read, and helping keep these books available to the public means a lot to me. Many of these books have made a big impact on me, and I hope they can continue to impact people for years to come.
- How do you think this project will impact the community – Midlands and beyond?
I think this project has the potential to show people how absurd book bans really are. Seeing the sheer number of books that have been banned is truly astonishing. In addition, I believe seeing the reasons why they’re banned brings light to how easy it is to misinterpret these bans. By seeing books many people have read and allowed their children to read and their alleged reasoning, people can see how crazy some of these bans are. I hope the project sheds light on the issue and potentially influences people to read a few of these titles.