Olympic College Libraries installed a display on the history of book burning for Banned Books Week 2023. The display features a quotation from A Universal History of the Destruction of Books, by Fernando Baez: “Those who destroy books and libraries know what they are doing. Their objective has always been clear: intimidate, erase motivation, demoralize, enhance historical oblivion, diminish resistance, and above all, foment doubt.”
Throughout History
The display includes information on Emperor Qin Shi Huang, who confiscated and burned the works of a range of philosophers and historians in China in 213 BC, and Franciscan Diego de Landa, who publicly burned Mayan books and thousands of cultural works in 1562.
Books on Fire
These shelves include information on book burning in Germany, Cambodia, Chile, Argentina, Sri Lanka, and Serbia. Librarians from Poland and Timbuktu who carried out services and preservation during attacks on their libraries are featured. Information on the recent surge in censorship and the Books Unbanned library card initiative is also featured. The pride flag quilt was created by librarian Caroline Evergreen.
Amanda Cain is a reference, instruction, and cataloging librarian who has worked at Olympic College since 2012.
Caroline Evergreen joined Olympic College as the Reference, Instruction, and OER Librarian from Georgia last November. When she is not at the library you can find her reading, quilting, or exploring this corner of the world with her family and her two pups!
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