A RESPONSE TO SUPPORT THE FREEDOM TO READ

Books Unbanned Library Card

FREE Digital Access to Books and Resources for Teens Nationwide

A Books Unbanned library card gives teens across the United States free digital access to ebooks and digital resources, including banned and challenged books—no matter where they live. Books Unbanned helps ensure teens can read what they like, explore new ideas and form their own opinions.

This is a free digital library card for teens, created to protect the freedom to read in the face of growing book censorship.

What the Books Unbanned Library Card Includes

Partner libraries nationwide provide free digital library cards that allow teens to:

Access ebooks and audio books online
Explore diverse perspectives and voices
Read privately, safely and without restriction

Free

Books Unbanned
Library Card

Get a Card

About Books Unbanned

Books Unbanned is a national initiative founded by Brooklyn Public Library in 2022, inspired by the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Statement and Library Bill of Rights. The program exists to defend teens’ right to access information, stories, and ideas—without censorship.

As book bans and challenges increase across the country, Books Unbanned provides a direct response: expanded digital access to books that are most often targeted for removal as part of a complete library catalog.

Why the Freedom to Read Matters

Across the U.S., books are being removed from school and public library shelves at an unprecedented rate—especially titles that explore race, gender, history, identity, and lived experience. This censorship limits what teens can learn, question, and explore.

Books Unbanned responds to book censorship by making sure teens can read freely, even when access is restricted locally. The program supports teens’ rights to read what they choose, think critically, and engage with peers across the country who care about intellectual freedom.

Resources

We’ve created these tools to get the word about Censorship, resources to activate teens in your community, and learn about the affects of book banning on young people.

Learn more

Borrowed and
Banned Podcast

BPL tells the story of America's ideological war with its bookshelves by talking with people most impacted: students on the frontlines, the librarians and teachers whose livelihoods are endangered when they speak up, and the writers whose books have become a political battleground.

Start Listening Here

Freedom to Read Teen Advocacy Toolkit

Young people are our most valuable asset when it comes to the fight against censorship but activating them can be a challenge for libraries with limited resources and competing priorities.

Brooklyn Public Library has leveraged its years of experience working with teens on the topic of intellectual freedom to develop a free downloadable toolkit that is available to anyone looking to build out teen civic engagement programming. These resources can be used for one-off programs or as part of an ongoing series. This toolkit was designed to be adapted to work for you and your circumstances.

View the Toolkit

Freedom to Read
Bingo Card

Get a sneak preview of the first unit of the toolkit with the Freedom to Read Bingo Card (PDF). This downloadable sheet can be used to encourage teens to do research about censorship, book bans and how intellectual freedom issues affect them. The Freedom to Read Bingo Card is written by Kelly Jensen and designed by Emma Karin Eriksson.

Download the Freedom to Read Bingo Card

Initiatives that WORK
WITH BOOKS UNBANNED

Become a Partner

Support the rights of teens nationwide to read what they like, form their own opinions and work together with peers across the nation to defend and expand the freedom to read.

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