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 can apply to our free Books Unbanned e-library card. Plus, Seattle Public Library and Boston Public Library now also have Books Unbanned cards that you can apply to up to age 26. And, if you live anywhere in California, you can apply to LA County Library's Books Unbanned program if you are between the ages of 13 and 18.

If you'd like, you can read a transcript of this episode. Borrowed and Banned is a production of Brooklyn Public Library and receives support from the Metropolitan New York Library Council’s Equity in Action Grant and Goat Rodeo.

More resources:

• October 1 - 7 is Banned Books Week! There are lots of events you can attend in Brooklyn and across the country. On October 4th, join our social media campaign by posting a picture of yourself reading in public (a banned book, or any book) and tell everyone that you protect the #FreedomtoRead. 
• Read new reports from PEN America about book bans in schools, and the American Library Association's stats on bans in libraries across the country.
• Read some of the most frequently-challenged books (many of which will be featured on this podcast series)!
• Start your own movement by wearing BPL's Books Unbanned QR code on your T-shirt or hoodie (and  support the library while doing it!)
• Sign up for our newsletter to get every episode delivered to your inbox. 

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 battleground. 

Read the transcript and find resources: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/introducing-borrowed-and

Over 14,000 patrons have signed up for their first library card since Jay-Z's exhibit came to Central Library in mid-July. We talk to Brooklynites traveling around the borough to collect all 13 Jay-Z library cards, and ask what The Book of HOV means to them. 

Learn more about the exhibit and our signature library cards: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/jay-z-library 

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 

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. 

Asylum seekers continue to arrive in New York City. We look at how one faith-based organization is responding to the continuing crisis in the hope that these personal narratives offer a window into the experience of migrants in Brooklyn today.

For a transcript of this episode in English and links to resources, visit: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/seeking-asylum 

Este episodio es sobre los solicitantes de asilo en la ciudad de Nueva York. Estamos compartiendo estas narrativas personales con la esperanza de que escucharlas devuelva la humanidad a esta crisis. 

Para leer el episodio en inglés y más recursos: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/buscando-asilo 

Last year, New York City began to see an increase in the number of migrants seeking asylum. The library is a small part of the city-wide response to help those seeking refuge. This episode, we'll talk about library and city efforts with Manuel Castro, the Commissioner at the Mayor's Office for Immigrant Affairs.

Links to resources and the epiosde transcript are here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/place-refuge