Online search engines are basically universal, so questions at the library reference desk are changing. We follow the story of one question, “I want to know how I can be happy,” and learn about how libraries are keeping up with the needs of the community. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: <a href='https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/across-reference-desk'>https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/across-reference-desk</a>

Online search engines are basically universal, so questions at the library reference desk are changing. We follow the story of one question, “I want to know how I can be happy,” and learn about how libraries are keeping up with the needs of the community. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/across-reference-desk

Online search engines are basically universal, so questions at the library reference desk are changing. We follow the story of one question, “I want to know how I can be happy,” and learn about how libraries are keeping up with the needs of the community. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: <a href="https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/across-reference-desk" rel="noopener noreferrer">https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/across-reference-desk</a>&nbsp;

Across the Reference Desk

Brooklyn Public Library is full of stories. Borrowed brings the best of them to you. Current podcast series: Launching July 8, 2025, Borrowed &amp; Returned is a new podcast series that examines what our reading public borrowed in the past, and what we’re all reading now. In conversations with library workers, authors and readers across the country, we’ll return to the books that changed us, and changed America, too.&nbsp; Previous podcast series:&nbsp;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. &nbsp; Borrowed, BPL's flagship podcast, 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. For transcripts, pictures, book lists, and resources, please visit our web page: bklynlib.org/podcasts&nbsp;

Society & Culture

Arts

Books

Brooklyn Public Library is full of stories. Borrowed brings the best of them to you. Current podcast series: Launching July 8, 2025, Borrowed & Returned is a new podcast series that examines what our reading public borrowed in the past, and what we’re all reading now. In conversations with library workers, authors and readers across the country, we’ll return to the books that changed us, and changed America, too.  Previous podcast series:   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.   Borrowed, BPL's flagship podcast, 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. For transcripts, pictures, book lists, and resources, please visit our web page: bklynlib.org/podcasts 

Share Across the Reference Desk

Sign up to save your podcasts

Across the Reference Desk

Across the Reference Desk

More shows like Borrowed & Returned

This American Life

Fresh Air

What Should I Read Next?

Book Riot - The Podcast

Well-Read

Code Switch

From the Front Porch

Civics 101

Reading Glasses

The Currently Reading Podcast

Sarah's Bookshelves Live

The Ezra Klein Show

Book Talk, etc.

NPR's Book of the Day

Zero to Well-Read