Banned Book Week

This year's Banned Book Week has a great idea that I hope takes off.  It is called the Virtual Read-out and it encourages participation during the week virtually.  

I love incorporating video with the blog and this idea of a virtual community exercising their freedom to read joins people from all corners.  What a great way to get involved and feel a part of a movement.  There are already several videos loaded, several by young adults and children.  

I included information from the website http://www.bannedbooksweek.org/ website for your convenience:

Join the Virtual Read-out! The centerpiece of this year’s Banned Books Week celebration (Sept. 24-Oct. 1) is a virtual read-out.

Since the inception of Banned Books Week in 1982, libraries and bookstores throughout the country have staged local read-outs as part of their activities. This year, for the first time, readers from around the world will be able to participate virtually in Banned Books Week, Sept. 24 – Oct.1. During this year’s celebration of Banned Books Week, readers will be able to proclaim the virtues of their favorite banned books by posting videos of themselves reading excerpts to a dedicated YouTube channel.

Everyone is invited to create a video of themselves reading from their favorite banned or challenged book and upload it to a special Banned Books Week channel. Videos of challenged authors and other celebrities will be posted on both YouTube and our Videos page in coming days. More information about the read-out is available here

You have two video options for the Banned Books Virtual Read-Out:

1) You can submit a video no more than two minutes long of a reading from a banned or challenged book. Here is a list of banned literary classics as well as a list of frequently challenged books throughout the years. You should also check out Mapping Censorship and Robert P. Doyle's Banned Books: Challenging Our Freedom to Read for more ideas. Banned Books: Challenging our Freedom to Read is available for purchase at the ALA Store or can be found at your local public library.

2) A video of an eyewitness account of local challenges can be submitted. This video should be no longer than three minutes long.

How to upload your videos

You will need a YouTube or Google account in order to participate. Once you have one, please sign into YouTube and follow their instructions on how to upload a video. A video tutorial on how to upload onto YouTube can be found here.

As the video downloads, you will need to update the Title, Description, and Tag fields with the following information to help ensure that your video will be featured on the Banned Books Week Read-Out channel:

Title

The title of your video should include "Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out." A good example is "A reading from The Perks of Being a Wallflower for the Banned Books Week Virtual Read-out" or "Banned Books Week Virtual Read-Out: A reading from Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.

Description

You may use the description to explain why the book you chose to read an excerpt from is your favorite banned/challenged book or offer more details about an eyewitness account of local challenges.

Tag

The most important part of the download is the tag. Please tag your video with "virtualreadout" to ensure that the video will be featured on the Banned Books Week You Tube Channel.

Final Step

Once you have posted your video, please send e-mail with the subject heading "Link for the BBW Virtual Read-Out!" to bbw@ala.org with the link to your video. The video will then be featured on the Banned Books Week YouTube channel. Please allow a couple days for your video to be featured on the channel.