BPL, SPL Release Joint Report on Banned Books
The Brooklyn Public Library and the Seattle Public Library have released a joint report, "In Their Own Words: Youth Voices on Books Unbanned," documenting responses from library patrons ages 13-26 who participated in the libraries' Books Unbanned program, which distributed nearly 13,000 library cards to young people across the United States, Guam, and Puerto Rico, granting them free access to the libraries' digital collections. "Collectively, Books Unbanned cardholders from these two library systems have checked out over 286,000 books," and "both libraries have been flooded with thousands of testimonials from young people across the country who have signed up for the program, openly sharing their experiences with censorship and other barriers to accessing books and libraries, along with their desire to exercise their right to choose what they read." The report can be read here.
