![]() ![]() ![]() Retrieved March 2023 from īrooklyn Public Library. National Library Week kicks off with State of America’s Libraries Report, annual ‘Top 10 Most Challenged Books’ list and a new campaign to fight book bans. ![]() ![]() Retrieved March 2023 from Īmerican Library Association. Brooklyn, NY - Celebrating National Library Week, Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) announced a new milestone today in the fight against censorship and book banning: more than 6000 young people, ages 13 to 21, have applied for a free BPL library card over the last year, providing them access to the Library’s entire digital collection of half a milli. (Also, between now and April 4, donations made on the Brooklyn Library’s website will be matched by trustees, for those who wish to make a financial contribution to the program.)Īmerican Library Association. Access to education and to a variety of viewpoints has proven time and time again to be great for the individual and society as a whole. The Brooklyn Public Library’s Books Unbanned program is a winner in Fast. Other informative links on the website include on to the American Library Association’s Library Bill of Rights, which makes statements such as: “Materials should not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to their creation,” “Libraries should challenge censorship,” and “A person’s right to use a library should not be denied or abridged because of origin, age, background, or views.”įrom my understanding, this is a fairly new program, and I’m hoping it takes off and sticks around. The Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned program is a winner in Fast Company's 2023 World Changing Ideas Awards. In addition to challenging book bans and providing access to titles, the program helps match teens looking for book recommendations with peers who can provide them, which seems like a great opportunity for those who don’t have a lot of access to diverse perspectives to connect with and learn from those who do. Most targeted books were for a teen audience and were by or about Black or LGBTQIA+ persons.” Brooklyn Public Library, Books Unbanned This represents the highest number of attempted book bans since ALA began compiling these lists 20 years ago. “The American Library Association reported 729 challenges to library, school and university materials and services in 2021, resulting in more than 1,597 individual book challenges or removals. Well, I’ve recently become aware of a resource that I didn’t know about at the time, that I’d now like to share.īooks Unbanned is a program by the Brooklyn Library that aims to help readers–primarily teens–access a wide variety of reading materials, with a special focus (from what I gather from their site) on titles that have been banned in an attempt to harm or silence minority groups. “Limiting access or providing one-sided information is a threat to democracy itself and we can not sit idly by while books rejected by a few are removed from library shelves for all,” a BPL library spokesperson said.A few months ago, I wrote a post on the issue of book banning in the U.S. HB 1775, for creating an “impossible working environment for teachers and a devastating learning environment for students.”īPL said in a statement to Brooklyn Magazine that it “stands firmly against censorship and for the principles of intellectual freedom - the right of every individual to seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction.” On Tuesday, she resigned from her position at Norman High School in protest of the law and book banning (currently on the high school’s homepage is a letter from the principal, titled “It’s a Great Day to be a Tiger!”). Immediately after this, I was removed from my position and placed on leave,” Boismier told the Fox affiliate from Oklahoma City. “In response to unfounded calls from state leadership for widespread censorship, I did share a library-linked QR code with my students. She was “removed from her classroom” earlier this week, according to KOKH-TV, because it violated an Oklahoma law thats clamps down and restricts “classroom materials,” such as books, that makes reference to “discriminatory principles,” such as systemic racism and LGBTQ issues.īoismier displayed the QR code with the a sign saying “books the state doesn’t want you to read” that directed kids to sign up for the BPL-backed program. Summer Boismier, an English teacher in Norman, Oklahoma displayed a QR code in her classroom directing her pupils to BPL’s anti-censorship Books Unbanned program, which began in April as a “response to an increasingly coordinated and effective effort to remove books tackling a wide range of topics from library shelves.” People aged from 13 to 21 years can access BPL’s e-library for free.Īpparently, directing kids to the program was too controversial for Boismier’s school district. Not everything that happens in Brooklyn stays in Brooklyn: An Oklahoma teacher was suspended and subsequently resigned from her position after she promoted a Brooklyn Public Library program that’s aimed at combatting book bans. ![]()
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