CARLYLE — Author Stephen King once tweeted, “Hey, Kids! It’s your old buddy Steve King telling you that if they ban a book in your school, haul you’re a** to the nearest bookstore or library ASAP and find out why they don’t want you to read it.” This is a message Carlyle librarian Naomi Twietmeyer lives by.
“I grew up very religious,” said Twietmeyer, who has been the librarian at the Carlyle Library for three years. “We were not allowed to read fiction. We could only read certain allotted books. My parents would destroy or burn books that they found were problematic.”
At 24, Twietmeyer moved to Canada from the United States.
“I had never been so happy. I had the freedom to read whatever I wanted,” she said.
It is this background that makes Freedom to Read Week, which ran from Feb. 23 to March 1, important to Twietmeyer.
Freedom to Read Week started in 1984 to challenge censorship. It also encourages Canadians to defend their right to publish, read and write, and to better understand the negative effects of censorship.
Freedom to Read Week is an annual event meant to encourage everyone to think about and reaffirm their commitment to intellectual freedom.
“Freedom to Read Week is about intellectual freedom in Canada,” said Twietmeyer. “It's important because it highlights how things can turn on a dime if we are not aware and stop it.”
Since its inception, Freedom to Read Week has become part of the annual programming in schools, libraries and literary groups across Canada.
“When do books become banned, and why are they questioned? Why are they threatening to certain people? It does not matter what side. Any time you go to ban books, to me, it is all about controlling information,” said Twietmeyer.
As a librarian, Twietmeyer wants everyone reading, no matter what form it takes.
“I am passionate about reading of all types,” she said. “I think audiobooks are important not just for people with disabilities but for people like me who do four things at once to focus.”
This also includes having a diverse range of material for people to choose from.
“All of us librarians are passionate about looking at books and material from all over the world that have been recommended to us,” said Twietmeyer. “If a patron comes in and asks to see something, if I cannot order it to live here, I can order it for display. That, to me, is part of the celebration—having a diverse bookshelf.”
Growing up in a conservative household makes Freedom to Read Week especially meaningful to Twietmeyer.
“I believe everyone has the right to read what they want to read and express opinions they want to express. The library is for everyone,” she said.
“Politically, right now, there is a big push for certain ideologies and lifestyles. Any work highlighting those lifestyles in a neutral or positive sense is questioned or banned. I think that is dangerous,” she said.
“I think we can take everything that is going on right now and transform it into a tool,” she said. “Seeing what I think are dangerous belief systems being forced on others, certain viewpoints being banned or [not] allowing people to think for themselves, is dangerous. I am concerned about it.”
This is why she brought in all the banned books she owns and created a display explaining why each book was banned.
“Then you can decide for yourself if you want to read the book or not,” said Twietmeyer. “I think it is powerful to approach being paralyzed by how much censorship there has been with positive action. That is my job as a librarian.”
