![]() ![]() The books in a library should “reflect the entire community,” Nick Higgins, the Brooklyn Public Library’s chief librarian, told the New York Times’ James Barron earlier this year. The initiative allows anyone in the United States between the ages of 13 and 21 to access the library’s online resources. One of those is Books UnBanned, which New York City’s Brooklyn Public Library launched in 2021. The Banned Book Club comes on the heels of several similar efforts. Texas was followed by Florida (566 bans) and Pennsylvania (457 bans). That choice does not belong to self-appointed book police.”Īmong school libraries, Texas banned 801 books during the 2021-2022 school year-more than any other state, according to a report from PEN America. She added, "The choice of what to read must be left to the reader or, in the case of children, to parents. ![]() “Their aim is to suppress the voices of those traditionally excluded from our nation’s conversations, such as people in the LGBTQIA+ community or people of color.” “Overwhelmingly, we’re seeing these challenges come from organized censorship groups that target local library board meetings to demand removal of a long list of books they share on social media,” said Deborah Caldwell-Stone, director of the ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, in a statement earlier this year. The number of unique titles targeted increased from 1,858 to 2,571. Between 20, the number of demands to censor library books and other materials nearly doubled, jumping from 729 to 1,269, according to a report from the American Library Association (ALA), which has been tracking banned book data for more than 20 years. “I believe such an approach is profoundly misguided, and contrary to what has made this country great.”Īcross the country, book banning efforts are at record highs. “The impulse seems to be to silence, rather than engage, rebut, learn from or seek to understand views that don’t fit our own,” he wrote. Obama has been a frequent critic of book bans, which he also addressed in an open letter earlier this month. With so many books being banned across the country, has launched The Banned Book Club to give readers access to e-books that have been banned. After visiting to see a list of titles banned in their area, readers can download those books for free via the Palace e-reader app.įollowing the launch, former President Barack Obama praised the Banned Book Club (and shared his own summer reading list) on Twitter. The app uses “GPS-based geo-targeting” to stock virtual libraries across the country. “We have created the Banned Book Club to leverage the dual powers of libraries and digital technology to ensure that every American can access the books they want to read.” Bracken, executive director of the DPLA, in a statement. “Today book bans are one of the greatest threats to our freedom,” says John S. “If you’re after a particular title by Toni Morrison or Margaret Atwood,” writes Literary Hub’s Janet Manley, “you might find that it’s available in Georgia, and effectively banned next door in Florida.”Ī new program aims to change that: Earlier this month, the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) launched the Banned Book Club, which provides users with free access to titles pulled from the shelves of local libraries. As book bans spike nationwide, access to particular texts varies tremendously depending on where readers are located. ![]()
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