Protecting the Freedom to Read: Five Months of Books Unbanned

“There are very few books with ANY minority characters at the libraries in my state, so I never see people like myself represented in written media.” – Age 16, Alabama

“I am a young person living in a rural-adjacent area without access to a local library.” – Age 18, Nebraska

“I live in a rural area where everyone knows everyone and I don’t feel comfortable checking out LGBTQ stuff from the library here.” – Age 24, Oregon

Just over five months ago, The Seattle Public Library announced that we were joining Brooklyn Public Library to offer a free Books Unbanned e-card for teens and young adults (ages 13 to 26) across the nation who live outside of our service area.

Anyone eligible can sign up and get access to our entire collection of e-books and e-audiobooks within 1-2 days at www.spl.org/BooksUnbanned.

In an era of unprecedented censorship, Books Unbanned is an effort to champion intellectual freedom and the right to read by doing what public libraries do – providing free and unrestricted access to information, ideas and diverse viewpoints.

The stakes couldn’t be higher. As our Chief Librarian Tom Fay said recently, “Intellectual freedom is the foundation of becoming a more inclusive and just society.” (You can view his speech about the threats of censorship and the value of intellectual freedom to the University of Washington’s 2023 iSchool graduating class here at the 39:30 minute mark of the video.)

Since April, nearly 4,700 young people from every state in the nation – as well as from D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico – have signed up for a Books Unbanned card through the Library. They have checked out more than 42,000 books (22,000 titles) and placed holds on thousands more.

Why did they sign up? The three comments at the top of this post are among hundreds we’ve received from Books Unbanned cardholders. We’ve heard from young people who are physically disabled and can’t get to a library, whose neighborhood isn’t served by a library, who are worried about bans in their state, and who want access to a diverse range of books and authors.

“I will be able to access and read books without having to go out (I am physically disabled).” – Age 18, Arizona

“I’m a queer trans man who can’t pay off the fines of my local library card from back when I was a kid.” – Age 19, Pennsylvania

“In Puerto Rico, especially in the city I live in, there isn’t a public library I can access. This card would make reading a much more affordable and accessible activity to me.” – Age 21, Puerto Rico

“This card would give me full permission to use my free time to learn and think rather than scrolling through my phone. I want to actively engage with the world and new ideas.” – Age 17, North Carolina

In short, young people – like all of us – want the freedom to read stories that reflect their experiences and identity, that challenge them, that offer joy and escape, and that help them discover themselves and form their own opinions.

Books Unbanned is expanding.  We are thrilled that just in time for Banned Books Week (Oct. 1 – 7), three more libraries have joined the initiative. Boston Public Library, San Diego Public Library and LA County Public Library have all launched Books Unbanned programs. Our library systems will work together as partners in defending and expanding the freedom to read, and we look forward to more libraries participating. 

Want to raise your voice and support the right to read? Even if you don’t qualify for a Books Unbanned card, you can share the program with others who do. Please consider spreading the word on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) and sharing our Books Unbanned webpage (www.spl.org/BooksUnbanned) or those of other libraries.

You can also follow and share news about censorship, and efforts to stop it. Book  Riot is doing a stand-up job of covering censorship news (see their results of a new survey about what parents think about book bans), as is the American Library Association’s Office of Intellectual Freedom. And our partners, the Brooklyn Public Library just launched a podcast series on the stories and stakes around our nation’s “ideological war with its bookshelves.”

A reminder that Seattle residents and others in our service area don’t qualify for Books Unbanned because they can already get a full-access library card at www.spl.org/card. Books Unbanned is generously funded by The Seattle Public Library Foundation, and will not affect Seattle patrons’ access to our collections. The Foundation is funding the Books Unbanned e-card through its Equity & Access Fund.

Learn more and find books: 

• Library book lists: Frequently challenged nonfiction books and Frequently challenged fiction books (see examples of books that have been challenged in the gallery at the top of page).
• American Library Association release: Preliminary data shows record surge of challenges in libraries for 2023
• PEN/America report: 2023 Banned Books Update: Banned in the USA (pen.org)
• American Library Association release: Record Book Bans in 2022
• American Library Association’s Freedom to Read statement