'Muggles' Honored for Fighting Book Bans

Sept. 25, 2000 -- Muggles, those ordinary people in the Harry Potter books, may not wield the magical powers of their wizard friends, but today four of them were celebrated as heroes in the nation’s capital.

Marking the national kickoff of Banned Books Week, two adults and two youngsters were lauded for their efforts to oppose book bans, especially challenges to the popular Harry Potter series.

The American Library Association recently announced J.K. Rowling’s best-selling books about a young wizard were the most challenged last year. Efforts to restrict their use or remove them entirely from classrooms and school libraries have been reported in 19 states.

Among those honored at a ceremony today at the Library of Congress were Mary Dana of Grand Haven, Mich., and Nancy Zennie of Zeeland, Mich., who spearheaded a grass-roots effort among parents, teachers and kids to oppose a ban on the Potter books in local schools.

The campaign evolved into an organization called “Muggles for Harry Potter,” which created its own Web site to help others around the country dealing with similar challenges in their communities.

Youth Cited

Two teenagers also received Heroes Awards from the organizers of Banned Books Week.

Julia Mayersohn, 13, of Union City, N.J., was cited for writing to Family Friendly Libraries voicing opposition to the group’s efforts to force the removal of Potter books from publicly funded institutions. She also rallied other Potter fans to write similar letters.Billy Smith, 11, of Santa Ana, Calif., was honored for giving up his summer vacation to read the first Potter volume aloud to kids from low-income homes, many of whom had never heard of the young wizard.

Former U.S. Rep. Pat Schroeder, president of the Association of American Publishers, presented the honorees with Olympic-style gold medals.

“I can’t think of a more appropriate place to celebrate the freedom to read than here in front of the statue of James Madison,” she said. The man who wrote our Constitution reminds us of the need to defend the Bill of Rights everyday, the lesson that our four Banned Books Week heroes have taken to heart.”

Sex Most Common Complaint

According to the ALA, more than 5,000 complaints about books were recorded at school and public libraries in the 1990s — about 20 percent to 25 percent of all challenges. The ALA also reports the numbers are on the decline over the past few years now that some have turned their concern to the Internet.

The most common objection raised about library books was “sexually explicit,” followed by “unsuited to age group” and “occult theme or promoting the occult or Satanism.” The latter is cited by opponents of the Harry Potter books, who object to the way Harry and his friends use magic.

Others included violence, promotion of same-sex relationships, racism and anti-family values. About 5 percent of the complaints led to a book being banned.

The most disputed books were the popular Scary Stories titles, horror tales by the late Alvin Schwartz. Objections included violence, cannibalism and causing children to fear the dark.

Also in the top 10 were Maya Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, J.D. Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Among the sponsors of the heroes program and Banned Books Week are: the Association of American Publishers, the American Library Association and the American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.