Borrowed
Brooklyn Public Library is full of stories. Borrowed brings the very best of them to you. Borrowed is a narrative series about superhero librarians, neighborhood stories and what it means to be a free, democratic place in today’s changing world. We tell stories about libraries during natural disasters, the challenges of homelessness, and NYC’s fraught relationship with trash. Borrowed and Banned is our limited series about America's ideological war with its bookshelves. From September to December 2023, we released ten episodes featuring the stories of students on the frontlines, librarians and teachers whose livelihoods are endangered when they speak up, and writers whose books have become political battleground. For transcripts, pictures, book lists, and resources, please visit our web page: bklynlib.org/podcasts
Episodes
We revisit an episode from January 2021 in honor of National Library Workers Day, and ask: what do librarians do all day? When they're not planning programs or working the reference desk, these librarians are also obscure trivia players, birders and ... sword fighters!
Read a transcript here.
- Have a minute? Vote for Borrowed and Banned in the Webby's! We were nominated for an award in the "Best Writing for Podcast...
Teens and older adults are perhaps the two age groups you might think have the least in common. But a new program at BPL seeks to bring the two generations together ... by having them debate.
Read a transcript of this episode on our web page.
Resources mentioned on this episode:
- Learn more about services for older adults at BPL and programs for teens!
- Listen to "Bridging the Gap," a podcast series on o...
Brooklyn has 62 neighborhood libraries, each with a distinct architecture, culture, and soul. To kick off the new season and to celebrate our audio stories coming home to Brooklyn, we'll take a tour of the borough with the help of our neighborhood libraries and some of our stalwart patrons who visited all 62 of them ... in a matter of days!
- Read a transcript of this episode.
- Take our Browse the Branches challenge! Not in New...
Student activists in York, Pennsylvania organized a silent protest when hundreds of books were banned from their classrooms, paving the way for lasting change in their community. In this final episode of the series, we tackle the challenge head-on: from encouraging open dialogue about the books on our shelves to the ongoing work of protecting the freedom to read.
Read the transcript here.
Our call to action for this episode:
How will...
Library workers often risk their livelihoods when they speak out against censorship, spurring community members to pick up the fight for intellectual freedom. We tell the story of how one Louisiana parish came together to defend their library amidst book challenges, tip lines, and even sign burning.
Read the transcript here.
Our call to action for this episode:
- Find the people in your community who care about public libraries and ...
Maia Kobabe's debut memoir, Gender Queer, was the most frequently banned book in 2021 and 2022. We talked with em about what it's like to be on the recieving end of so many challenges, and the importance of public libraries.
Read the transcript here.
More resources:
- Check out Gender Queer.
- Find Maia's resources for defending Gender Queer, and eir recent comic about book bans and libraries.
- Read The Washington Post&apo...
Despite being one of the most frequently banned authors, Toni Morrison’s work has inspired countless others to tell stories outside the mainstream. We take a closer look at Morisson's writing, her legacy, and her impact on the anti-censorship movement.
Read the transcript here.
Our call to action for this episode:
- Learn how you can support and defend public libraries at Libraries for the People.
More resources:
- Read To...
George M. Johnson talks about their debut Young Adult memoir All Boys Aren't Blue, the support of their family, their love of Toni Morrison, and the importance of standing against book bans.
Read the transcript here.
Resources:
- Check out All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson.
- Read about Johnson's family supporting their book when it was challenged in Glen Ridge, New Jersey.
- Access other banned books with our fre...
Our call to action for this episode:
- Talk about the books that are important to you, even if they aren’t challenged.
- Stay informed about what books are being challenged in your area by subscribing to Book Riot's Literary Activism Newsletter. Each week, journalist Kelly Jensen writes about the latest in book banning trends, stories, and reports from across the country.
More resources:
- Read the new "classics,"...
Mike Curato talks about his award-winning graphic novel Flamer, his writing practice, and how it feels to have his story vaulted into national headlines as parents, politicians, and school boards campaign to remove his book from school and library shelves.
Read the transcript here.
Resources:
- Check out Flamer from BPL, or other books by Mike Curato.
- See what books were most frequently challenged in 2022, according to the America Li...
Over the past few years, school board races have become more heated and more political — and books have become the center of that political storm. We look at what happened in Keller, Texas when an ultra-conservative group took over the school board.
You can read a transcript of this episode here.
Our call to action for this episode:
It’s an
Our calls to action for this episo...
When a high school teacher in Norman, Oklahoma shared a QR code with her students that would grant them access to BPL’s digital collection, she took a stand against a restrictive state law. That act of resistance made her first day of school ... also her last.
Our call to action for this episode: Get a library card! Wherever you live, sign up for a library card in person or online. If you're between the ages of 13 and 21, you ...
Last year, over 2,500 unique titles were challenged in libraries across the country. That’s the highest number in over 20 years. On Borrowed and Banned, we tell the story of America’s ideological war with its bookshelves by talking with the people most impacted: the students on the frontlines, the librarians and teachers whose livelihoods are endangered when they speak up, and the writers whose books have become political battlegro...
Kesha Powell and Amen Emile have been working at BPL for over 20 years in various roles, from public safety to circulation manager. Thanks to BPL's Pathways to Leadership program—a scholarship and mentorship initiative designed to diversify the field of librarianship—they will soon be fully-certified librarians.
Read the transcript and find further resources here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/pathways-leadership
If you ask Hannah Jean what would be her greatest wish, she will say running Brooklyn Public Library. Last month, she got to do just that.
Read the transcript and check out our book list: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/meet-our-almost-six-year
Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.
Meet the Luddite Club, a group of library-loving, flip-phone-toting teenagers in Brooklyn who come together every week out of a shared sense that social media and smart phones just aren't working for them.
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