Book bans have been rising rapidly across states, especially literature that includes race theory and LGBTQ+ topics. But in response to these challenges, some people are increasing efforts to ensure readers still have access to banned texts.
The Boston Public Library has joined the Brooklyn Public Library's Books Unbanned initiative, offering teenagers and young adults across the nation free access to ebooks and audiobooks from the BPL's digital collection.
“We have made any of the books in our collection that are on a banned book list available to anyone in the country aged 13 to 26,” BPL President David Leonard said Tuesday on Boston Public Radio.
In addition to ebooks, the broader movement against book censorship includes efforts to mail physical books to readers who can't access them locally.
“If there's a teenager who wants access to a book that is not provided by their parents and not provided by their school, we want to find some way to get it to them,” said entrepreneur Paul English.
English launched BannedBooksUSA.org with the help of Joyce Linehan. The platform aims to provide banned and restricted books for anyone residing in Florida, one of the states where book bans have really taken hold. A person requesting the banned book only has to pay for shipping.
“The more I've heard about state legislators and local communities trying to ban books and change curriculum and ban certain thinking. It just concerned me,” said English.
Leonard said the BPL's initiative and English's Banned Books USA are complementary efforts. The two are committed to having the younger generations access a wide range of literature without restrictions.
“You get to choose your own adventure, what's right for you, for your family, for your interests. We do not prescribe that, but we will make things available,” said Leonard.
