In honor of Veterans Day, we are bringing you four stories of service, from veterans who served in World War II, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and Iraq. Three voices come to us from interviews collected at BPL for the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress.

Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/stories-service

To honor the tenth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, we are returning to an episode we produced in 2019 about the impact of the storm on our library system, and how libraries can become information centers, shelters and community spaces in the wake of natural disaster.

Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/rebroadcast-weathering

Will you visit your library this summer? To kick off a season of reading, we thought we'd have some fun! How many Brooklyn and library trivia questions can you answer correctly?

Want to learn more about topics brought up in this episode? Check out the following links!

• Listen to our new podcast for kids! Page Flippers Take on the World is a wacky library show where kids save the day by reading the right books and asking the right questions. 
• Visit the library this summer! Take a look at our calendar for Summer Reading events for kids, or check out one of the 125 essential Brooklyn books on our list. Or, you can take a literary walking tour of the borough with our audio guide.
• Watch KRS-One's full presentation at BPL's 2008 Summer Reading Kickoff. And check out the Mali Magic program, with videos, documents and more about the rescued, ancient Malian manuscripts.

Check out our 125 essential Brooklyn books, for readers of all ages, in honor of our 125th anniversary. 

Book bans and challenges have been on the rise in the past few years. When BPL launched a free eCard to give out-of-state teens access to our eBook collection, including many banned titles, we saw an incredible response. We look at the impact of that initiative, and our own history of censorship over the past 125 years.

Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/books-unbanned 

Read the transcript and check out our listening list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/library-sounds

In 1996, we were one of the first libraries in the nation to connect our patrons to the internet. Today, we're extending our WiFi reach down the block, loaning hotspots, and archiving hyperlocal websites for the future. 

Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/world-wide-web 

A lot had changed since Melvil Dewey came up with a classification system to organize all known and not-yet-known knowledge into a string of numbers and search terms. And yet, hundreds of thousands of libraries use the same system to this day, often preserving out-dated and offensive terms. In this episode, we take a look at what has changed—and what hasn't—in our library catalog.

Read our transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/decolonizing-dewey-02549 

Libraries weren't always located in their own stately buildings. Many of our branches used to operate out of pharmacies, laundry rooms, storefronts, and more! In celebration of our first new branch in nearly forty years—Adams Street Library, located in a former factory in DUMBO—we're bringing you stories of new libraries in old places. 

Read our transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/new-libraries-old-places  

In this season of Borrowed, we’ll take a look at what the library was like 125 years ago, the radical ideas that founded public libraries across the country, as well as our missteps along the way.