Library opens digital collection to teens, young adults nationwide to combat censorship

The Brooklyn Public Library is challenging censorship and book bans head-on by opening its collection to readers nationwide.

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The BPL launched a new initiative called “Books UnBanned,” library officials announced earlier this month.

Teens and young adults, no matter where they live in the U.S., can apply for a free eCard from the Brooklyn Public Library to access its collection of e-books.

Normally, an eCard comes with a $50 charge for out-of-state applicants. That fee will be waived. Several books will be available with no holds or wait times for cardholders.

“We cannot sit idly by while books rejected by a few are removed from the library shelves for all. Books UnBanned will act as an antidote to censorship, offering teens and young adults across the country unlimited access to our extensive collection of ebooks and audiobooks, including those which may be banned in their home libraries,” Linda Johnson, library president and CEO, said in a news release.

The digital library card will be good for one year and allow users to access 350,000 e-books, 200,00 audiobooks and more than 100 databases.

It will also allow users to connect with peers to help fight censorship, discover book recommendations and defend the freedom to read.

To apply for the eCard, email the library at BooksUnbanned@bklynlibrary.org or visit its teen-run Instagram account.

Several school districts around the country have been reevaluating book selections in their school libraries and removing books they deem inappropriate for students. Books that tackle racial and LGBTQ topics are frequently the ones being pulled, The Washington Post reported.

PEN America said earlier this month that there had been 1,586 book bans in schools over the past nine months. PEN America is a nonprofit that advocates freedom of expression.

The American Library Association said that there had been 1,597 book titles challenged or removed in 2021, the Post reported.

Recently, the Florida Citizens Alliance published its “Porn in Schools Report,” which included 58 books that the group said had inappropriate content, USA Today reported.

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