''Books Unbanned'' is a United States library program that issues library cards nationwide from regional libraries in order to give electronic access to the library's digital and audio collections to teens and young adults living in U.S. locations where books are being challenged. Initially established by the

Brooklyn Public Library The Brooklyn Public Library is the public library system of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is the sixteenth largest public library system in the United States by holding and the seventh by number of visitors. Like the two Brooklyn Publ ...

, it was created in response to a wave of book challenges against schools and libraries in 2021 and now encompasses five libraries across the United States.

History

Efforts to censor teenage access to books in the United States swelled in 2021 after a video of a parent at a

Fairfax County, Virginia Fairfax County, officially the County of Fairfax, is a County (United States), county in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. With a population of 1,150,309 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the most p ...

, school board meeting demanding removal of the graphic novel ''

Gender Queer ''Gender Queer: A Memoir'' is a 2019 American graphic memoir written and illustrated by Maia Kobabe. It recounts Kobabe's journey from adolescence to adulthood and the author's exploration of gender identity and sexuality, ultimately identifyin ...

'' from the high school library went viral. Afterward, libraries and classrooms across the US became targets of coordinated campaigns frequently led or funded by right-wing activists. 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 adults aged 13 to 21 anywhere in the US. Teens apply to get an ecard through email or the library-run

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

account. By January 2023, 6,000 teenagers had requested cards through the BPL's ''Books Unbanned'' program and 52,000 books had been checked out. On April 27, 2023, the

Seattle Public Library The Seattle Public Library (SPL) is the public library system serving the city of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington. Efforts to start a Seattle library had commenced as early as 1868, with the system eventually being established by the ci ...

joined the ''Books Unbanned'' initiative, making it the second library system to participate. Seattle's ecard is for teens and young adults aged 13 to 26. In October 2023, in honor of

Banned Books Week Banned Books Week is an annual awareness campaign promoted by the American Library Association and Amnesty International, that celebrates the freedom to read, draws attention to banned and challenged books, and highlights persecuted individual ...

, the program expanded to three more libraries:

Boston Public Library The Boston Public Library is a municipal public library system in Boston, Massachusetts, founded in 1848. The Boston Public Library is also Massachusetts' Library for the Commonwealth (formerly ''library of last recourse''), meaning all adult re ...

LA County Library LA County Library is one of the largest public library system A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied ...

, and

San Diego Public Library The San Diego Public Library is a public library system serving San Diego, California. History The San Diego Public Library was established on May 19, 1882, by an elected board of library trustees, one of whom was civic leader and philant ...

Participants

Impact

In August 2022, a teacher in Oklahoma was put on administrative leave after posting the QR code for BPL's ''Books Unbanned'' in her classroom. The Oklahoma Secretary of Education called to have her teaching license revoked. The teacher subsequently resigned and, several months later, accepted a job with the Brooklyn Public Library.

Awards

*In 2023, Books Unbanned was recognized as Librarians of the Year by

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

*In 2023, Books Unbanned was given

Fast Company ''Fast Company'' is an American business magazine published monthly in print and online, focusing on technology, business, and design. It releases six print issues annually. History ''Fast Company'' was founded in November 1995 by Alan Webb ...

's World Changing Ideas Award *In 2023, Books Unbanned received the Defender Award from the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund and the

Dramatists Guild of America The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market. It was born in 1921 out of the Authors Guild, known then as Authors League of America, formed in 1912. M ...

References

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External links