![]() When a group of people in different parts of the country find offense to certain books, the administration of that area’s library or school has the books removed from shelves, so the public cannot access them. “Largely, those books are focused on LGBTQ characters or written by Black authors, so there’s a specific target to these book bans,” Higgins added. It was a program they initially thought wouldn’t reach far, but it took flight last spring.īy waiving the $50 fee for eCards for those living out of state, teens all over the country can access those banned books. “We’ve had more banned books reported across libraries and schools in this country than ever before,” said Nick Higgins, chief librarian at Brooklyn Public Library.Ĭreating the ‘Books Unbanned’ initiative earned a team of five librarians the title of Librarians of the Year by the Library Journal. – When an increased number of books became banned across the United States over the last couple of years, a group of Brooklyn librarians knew they had to act. Inspired by the American Library Association's Freedom to Read Statement, BPL's Books Unbanned initiative is a response to an increasingly coordinated and effective effort to remove books tackling a wide range of topics from library shelves. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.īROOKLYN, N.Y. Teens can apply for the card by sending a note to or via the Library’s s teen-run Instagram account, the campaign also invites young people to share videos, essays, or stories on “the importance of intellectual freedom and the impact that book challenges and bans have had on their lives.” Those local to Brooklyn who are interested in joining the Intellectual Freedom Teen Council can learn more here.This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. “We defend the rights of the next generation to discover themselves and learn how to make up their own minds.” Titles often focus on LGBTQ issues, race, religion, and history. “Libraries exist to provide equal access for all, build empathy and education, and support the free exchange of thoughts and ideas,” Amy Mikel, Brooklyn Public Library’s director of customer experience, said in a statement. In April 2022, the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) introduced the Books Unbanned program in response to the movement, offering free BPL ecards to teens and young. The American Library Association tracked 729 challenges to books in 2021, nearly double the number in 2019. books that regularly face bans, such as Toni Morrison’s The Bluest Eye and The 1619 Project - to be immediately available for all BPL cardholders through an online catalog and via the Libby app (which connects to a library card, and is an e-reader and audiobook app specifically for online library loans). This campaign will also connect teens to the library’s Intellectual Freedom Teen Council to “help one another with information and resources to fight censorship, book recommendations and the defense of freedom to read.”Īdditionally, BPL is adding “frequently challenged books” - a.k.a. ![]() ![]() Brooklyn Public Library Book challenges that remove titles from school. But on April 13, the Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) launched its Books UnBanned campaign: For a “limited time,” 13- to 21-year-olds nationwide can apply for a free one-year BPL e-card, which provides access to 350,000 e-books, 200,000 audiobooks, and over 100 databases. The Brooklyn Public Library has issued about 6,000 free library cards through its Books Unbanned project. Not much has been said about how those in other states free from those restrictions are helping youth in targeted educational environments. These bans disproportionately weigh against marginalized experiences. BPL Chief Librarian Nick Higgins recently talked to LJ about how the idea. Texas came in first place with 713 bans Pennsylvania, Florida, Oklahoma, Kansas, and Tennessee round out the other top spots. Since April, Brooklyn Public Library’s (BPL) Books Unbanned program has offered free library cards to teens and young adults across the United States who live in communities impacted by book bans, enabling them to access the library’s collection of more than 500,000 ebooks, e-audiobooks, digital magazines, and more. At least 26 states put in place book bans in schools between Jand March 31, 2022, according to a recently released report by PEN America for their new index tracking book bans. Book bans - while not a new trend - have been making headlines across the country in the past year. When the Brooklyn Public Library announced Books Unbanned, their program focusing on combating censorship and suppression, the goal was to provide access to books otherwise removed from school and. The library, the sixth largest in the country, first announced the Books UnBanned campaign in a press release on April 13, responding to a rash of book bans in public schools and libraries that have primarily impacted LGBTQ+ titles and books by authors of color.
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