Freedom to Read Book Club
Please join Bill Wiles (affectionately known to his Castleton students as "Mr. Bill") for a lively & informative series of discussions of banned and / or frequently challenged books. They'll be at the library monthly, beginning on Oct. 5 and continuing on First Mondays through May 2027.
For books that are not widely held by libraries (such as our first one), we'll be making them available to borrow at the library.
Rutland Free Library has a long tradition of supporting our users right to read what they want, starting in 1995. That's when a patron borrowed our copy of a children's book, Daddy's Roommate, and then complained that it was inappropriate for her family. She requested that the book either be removed completely or stored where it could only be retrieved by asking a staff member for it.
The ensuing debate was fierce, culminating in a public hearing that filled the Fox Room to capacity with attendees spilling down the stairs and out the door. The eventual determination was that the book -- describing everyday events like going to the park or reading together for a boy whose father is gay -- belonged on the shelves in the children's room like all our other picture books.
The American Library Association eventually recognized Rutland Free Library for upholding the principles of the First Amendment with a national award. The entire sequence of events seemed to be fading into history until the culture wars thrust censorship (most often against materials with LGBTQIA themes) back into the daily lives of families, readers, and libraries nationwide.
The Freedom to Read Book Club is sponsored by Phoenix Books Rutland, Meub Associates, Friends of Rutland Free Library and Solsaa Building & Energy Solutions.