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American teens can now access banned books through Long Beach’s free digital library program

“Your freedom to read is a fundamental right.”

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American teens can now access banned books through Long Beach’s Free Digital Library Program

Right now, something absolutely incredible is happening in Long Beach, California. The Long Beach Public Library Foundation, which includes 11 neighborhood branches and the flagship Billie Jean King Main Library, just announced that it’s partnering with the Brooklyn Public Library. Their goal? By October 25th, every single teenager in the nation will have free access to books that might have been banned or restricted in their area.


It’s pretty awesome to witness a library fight so fiercely, throwing out copies of Looking for Alaska, or Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale, like a bookish Adonis Creed. Because this is precisely what this moment needs: fearlessness and tenacity in the face of censorship.


The partnership that’s changing everything

Libraries are shared havens, safe spaces that offer much more than the Dewey Decimal system. Everyone is welcome here at the public library, whether you’re sitting down and reading, using the printer, or accidentally looking at your phone the entire time, only to realize you got zero work done at all.

But this is different.

This is about libraries transforming into protectors of intellectual freedom and champions against censorship.


 library, public, books, censorship, free Libraries are fighting back. Photo credit: Canva

Here’s how it works: Starting this fall, teens between 13 and 19 years old anywhere in the United States will be able to sign up for a free digital library card from the Long Beach Public Library. All participants must fill out an application to gain access to the library’s digital resources, then renew annually to retain it.

Once approved, they will have full access to the library’s entire collection of e-books and audiobooks through the Libby app. There, they will find a treasure trove of titles that have been challenged or banned elsewhere, such as the New York Times bestseller, Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen, which received 66 bans last year. Or, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Stephen Chbosky’s cult-favorite coming-of-age tale, which is currently tied for the third most-banned book in America.

 


 

 woman, car, perks of being a wallflower, movie, scene These books and stories, they too, are infinite. Credit: Giphy 

 

In fact, Susan Jones, the library’s manager of automated services, told the Long Beach Post that the library actually intends to expand its database of banned books and purchase “titles that may be facing censorship challenges nationwide” to minimize wait times.

With its most recent alliance, the Long Beach Public Library Foundation joins the Brooklyn Public Library's nationwide “Books Unbanned” movement. Inspired by the American Library Association’s Freedom to Read Statement and the Library Bill of Rights, Books Unbanned was founded to “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.” Other members of the Books Unbanned coalition include the Boston Public Library, the Los Angeles Public Library, the San Diego Public Library, and the Seattle Public Library.

“We started Books Unbanned in April 2022, and we really did it in response to all the stories we were hearing about books being banned across the country. … We wanted to figure out a way to get books in the hands of young people who were being denied them,” said Fritzi Bodenheimer, a spokesperson for the Brooklyn Public Library. “We just didn’t feel like, as a public library, we could just sit back and watch this happen.”

  A video explaining Books Unbanned.   Credit: YouTube 

The response has been overwhelming. Bodenheimer urges other libraries like Long Beach to step up and provide books that are under attack, before it's too late.

“Since we launched in April 2022, we’ve had almost 10,000 young people sign up for a card, and they’re from all 50 states. They've checked out … close to or maybe over 300,000 books,” Bodenheimer told the Long Beach Post. “It’s incredibly exciting and heartwarming, and it’s also incredibly heartbreaking because it means there’s a need.”

Why this matters so, so much

Reading is under attack. And the need for action has never felt more urgent. According to the American Library Association’s (ALA) annual report, there were 821 attempts to censor library books and materials in 2024, with 2,452 unique titles being challenged—the third-highest number ever documented by ALA.

What’s particularly concerning is that 72% of these censorship demands came from organized “pressure groups" and "the administrators, board members, and elected officials they influenced,” rather than individual parents (16%) or community members (4%). More than half of these challenges took place in public libraries (55%), with school libraries following close behind (38%).

Let's be clear. The books being targeted aren’t random.


 man, public, library, books, reading Books aren't challenged or banned by accident. They're targeted.Photo credit: Canva

These are stories written by or about Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC), or LGBTQ+ individuals that explore their experiences, histories, and movements. They address race and racism, and dive head-first into the experiences of marginalized communities. In other words, these are the very books that could help young people see themselves reflected in literature or empathize with perspectives different from their own.

“We are witnessing an effort to eliminate entire genres and categories of books from library shelves in pursuit of a larger goal of placing politics and religion over the well-being and education of young people and everyone’s right to access and find information in our libraries,” reports Deborah Caldwell-Stone, the director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom.

In 2024, these were the top 10 most frequently targeted books:

  1. All Boys Aren’t Blue: A Memoir-Manifesto by George M. Johnson.
  2. Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe.
  3. The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.
  4. The Perks of Being a Wallflower by Stephen Chbosky.
  5. Tricks by Ellen Hopkins.
  6. Looking for Alaska by John Green.
  7. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl by Jessie Andrews.
  8. Crank by Ellen Hopkins.
  9. Sold by Patricia McCormick.
  10. Flamer by Mike Curato.


Real stories, real impact

The power of this program becomes crystal clear when you hear from the teens themselves, their voices and lives recorded in a collection of thousands of stories called “In Their Own Words: Youth Voices on Books Unbanned."

“The library closest to me is very underfunded, and it is very conservative. It has a plethora of Christian novels, but their novels surrounding people of color and other religions are very limited. As a person of color, it sucks to not be able to see myself in novels I read,” writes an anonymous 17-year-old reader in Texas.

“There are books that I cannot take home because they would put me in danger. Reading digitally allows me to keep myself safe but still give[s] me the ability to read freely,” says another, this time, a 19-year-old in Virginia.

Finally, in California, a 16-year-old explains, “If it hadn’t been for the books available to me about different marginalized people’s perspectives in my school libraries growing up, I might have grown up to be a very different person.”


The fight continues

This partnership represents something bigger than books. It’s about democracy, human empathy, and the belief that all young people deserve access to stories to help them understand themselves and the world around them.

In a time when literary censorship is at an all-time high, Long Beach Public Library’s allegiance with Books Unbanned offers something radical and precious: a glimmer of hope.


 woman, library, reading, intellectual freedom, public Our public libraries are precious. Photo credit: Canva

It’s a reminder that our libraries will not go down easily. That people around the country want to protect intellectual freedom just as much as you do. And they are willing to fight tooth and nail for every young person’s right to read, learn, and grow.

Long Beach Public Library's Books Unbanned program is slated to launch in October 2025, just in time for this year's Banned Books Week, where the theme is "Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.” Is this a blessing from George Orwell himself, telling us that we're heading in the right direction? I hope so.

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'Bluey' creators put full 'Dad Baby' episode on YouTube so Americans can finally see it

People are trying to figure out what triggered Disney's decision to censor the hilarious 7-minute episode.

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The "Dad Baby" episode of "Bluey" hasn't been available to American audiences until now.

American "Bluey" fans have enjoyed nearly full access to the entire lineup of the popular Australian kids' show since it started streaming on Disney +, with one notable exception: Season 2, Episode 13, also known as "Dad Baby."

The "Dad Baby" episode has attained legendary status in the "Bluey" world, with U.S. audiences wondering what could possibly have caused Disney to choose not to include it on its streaming service. Now, thanks to the official "Bluey" YouTube account sharing the full episode for free, we can all find out.

The 7-minute episode, which you can view below, was uploaded to YouTube on May 1, 2024 and has received more than 6 million views in five days. Comments on the video are turned off, but people have been discussing the censorship of "Dad Baby" on social media with a resounding reaction of "Huh? Why?"

While childbirth might be seen by some as a touchy subject, most viewers agree that there's nothing in the "Dad Baby" episode that feels questionable or inappropriate for young children.

In short, the kids are playing pretend with their dad, Bandit, who puts on a baby carrier and carries Bluey's younger sister around as if he were pregnant. There's an ongoing bit with Bandit acting as if being pregnant is a walk in the park, while actually feeling the strains and pains of carrying an extra person around. Ultimately, he ends up "giving birth" with the help of a neighbor, in the family's backyard blow-up pool. It's all very silly and quite hilarious.

It's also an accurate portrayal of how kids actually play in the real world. One of the things fans love about "Bluey" is the way the parents go along with their kids' imaginary play, sometimes going to ridiculous lengths to act out their make-believe storylines. This episode might stretch those lengths a tad bit, but not more than some other "Bluey" episodes.

Watch and judge for yourself:

The comments are turned off on the YouTube upload, but people have been discussing it on social media with comments such as these:

"That was an absolutely adorable episode thank you for sharing it with us. Idk why it’s banned, but I’m glad I got to watch it."

"I cackled so hard at this episode. I couldn't believe they kept it off disney plus."

"i work in a nursery every day for my 10 year + career i have seen all children play pretend pregnant boys and girls ... its just something kids do(it aint a new thing i promise you xD) n this episode is just a dad joining in his kids play!"

""One of my family’s favorite episodes! My 10y/o to 4y/o were in tears laughing the first time we saw it thinking of when I was pregnant with their little sister/brother (who are now 3y/o and 1y/o)."

"America is so backwards, it sensors/removes/bans things on a children’s program that are nothing to worry about but then they allow guns in real life!!! How does that make sense?? This episode has aired on cebeebies (a toddlers tv channel in the uk) many times and is on the uk disney+. I honestly don't see the problem with this episode."

Disney has apparently never explicitly stated why "Dad Baby" was censored from the lineup, so people naturally gravitate toward their own theories. Perhaps it's a tad too close to sex education? Maybe it's showing a man being pregnant? Maybe it's the visual of a dog lying with its legs spread in a pool while "giving birth," even though no body parts are even shown? Maybe it's our societal squeamishness about childbirth in general?

Whatever the reason, people seem to disagree that there's anything worth censoring in this episode and are thankful that they're now able to see it. As one of the top streaming shows, "Bluey" has built an enormous loyal fan base of all ages, and for them (ahem, us), even one missing episode is one too many.

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Texas teacher details how distrust and legal hoops have destroyed her classroom library

This goes so far beyond just banning specific titles.

Image by Wokingham Libraries from Pixabay

Stringent new requirements for classroom libraries have teachers up in arms.

Few things are more integral to a child's future successes than developing the skill and habit of reading. Study after study has shown that reading, even for pleasure, helps kids develop critical thinking skills, improve their vocabulary, increase their ability to understand others and more. Reading can even helps kids do better in math.

Because reading is such a vital learning tool, one would think caring parents would want schools to support kids reading however they can. That support might look like full, rich school libraries and classrooms full of books that kids can choose from when they have some downtime.

But a push for extreme censorship, fueled by politicians who see an opportunity to garner support through fear, has put teachers with large classroom libraries into impossible positions.

In a Facebook post that's been shared more than 19,000 times, an elementary school teacher in Texas has detailed how her state's new regulations on books in the classroom have made it virtually impossible to offer students the class library she's been building for more than a decade. Emily Clay shared a photo of several shelves filled with bins of books.

"Here is my classroom library," she wrote. "This is over 1,600 books chosen for my elementary students. This is over a decade and thousands of dollars and countless donations of collecting. This is my students’ favorite place to go in my classroom. This is where I go when I have a reluctant reader to find something just right to spark their interest.

"According to the state of Texas, this is dangerous. This is a place where children may be indoctrinated or exposed to inappropriate content. This is just one more area where teachers cannot be trusted as educational experts. This is a battleground."

Clay shared that every teacher in her district now has to go through a tedious process that starts with entering the title, author and year published for every single book in their classroom into a spreadsheet. "Then we have to go through a painstaking process to vet each and every book---even if we’ve read them, even if we grew up reading them---to make sure that 'real experts' have determined that the book content is appropriate for the age level we teach, and also enter that data," she wrote.

This summer, Clay scanned all of her classroom books into her own library system—a process that only required a barcode scan of each book. That alone took six hours, she said. There's no way she could process each book and enter the details into a spreadsheet the way the policy requires within any reasonable amount of time. Even if each book took just three minutes to process, it would take 80 hours to enter her entire 1,600-book library. No teacher has even a fraction of that amount of time. And they are supposed to have this process completed by November.

"So what am I going to do?" she wrote. "I already don’t have on-contract time to do all the things we are required to do. What I’m going to do is box up every one of these books and put them away. And these shelves will be bare. I won’t be the only one putting away all of my books. Classrooms across Texas will be bare of libraries because of this.

"I ugly-cried this morning. One of my favorite things about my job is getting emails from parents telling me how enthusiastically their child is now reading at home.

"How are kids going to learn to love to read if they can’t hold books in their hands? Putting barriers between kids and books is one of the worst things I can think of."

Roadblocking classroom reading material is especially harmful to low-income students, who may have few, if any, books at home to read.

As Clay points out in her post, kids already have access to all of the things parents are afraid they might see in a book right at their fingertips with smartphones, tablets and computers. Books aren't the enemy here.

"Sure, there are some vigilant parents who make sure their children are never exposed to anything they don’t want them to see," Clay wrote. "And while these parents could have chosen to take their kids to the public libraries themselves and choose books they deem appropriate, instead they chose to raise up their voices against teachers like me and decide that everyone’s child should be restricted; every child should have to live up to whatever standards they have chosen for their own children. They've made it clear they think we're all in this profession to tarnish and brainwash their children. This TINY minority of people are the ones who are making things like this happen. And just like with everything else in our under-funded, under-respected, over-worked, under-paid, under-staffed industry, we're probably all going to roll over and take it."

But Clay also shared that more teachers will quit because of this kind of micromanagement. She's right. People often think that teachers quit because they are underpaid, but often it's the lack of respect for teachers as professionals and the top-down decisions that make teaching effectively difficult or impossible that push teachers away from their chosen career. 

But Clay's final words really get to the heart of why these hoops teachers are being asked to jump through are so problematic.

"I LOVE my students," she wrote. "I would NEVER put anything in my classroom library that I thought might expose them to something inappropriate or too mature. I know I can get parent volunteers to come in and donate their time to help me catalog my extensive collection. But what I'm really mourning is the absolute lack of trust in highly-trained educators who have poured their souls into this profession and the children of people who believe we're indoctrinating them."

This goes so far beyond raising concerns about or even banning some specific titles. What this says is: We don't trust teachers. We think you're trying to harm kids with your cute little classroom library so we're going to make it as hard as possible to even have one. If there are concerns over specific books? Fine, raise them. All reasonable people would agree that certain material is not appropriate for children at all and has no place in the classroom. Some books might fall into a subjective gray area and be up for debate, and that's fine. Those are healthy debates to have.

But parents are taking issue with books that aren't sexually explicit but simply include characters who have two same-sex parents or characters who are transgender—those books are simply reflective of the world kids live in. If parents are taking issue with books that give deference to the perspectives of people harmed by racism, that is also reflective of the world they live in. If parents are really that concerned, they can send kids to school with their own personal books to read from home and inform the teacher that they aren't allowed to use the class library. Or they can choose to homeschool.

Just stop punishing teachers for crimes they haven't committed and making their jobs far harder than they already are. They don't deserve it, and it's ultimately doing more harm than good to kids who benefit from access to classroom libraries.

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Comic shop owner offers free copies of banned graphic novel 'Maus,' causing massive sales

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Prize-winning graphic novel "Maus" is being banned in some states.

The topic of censorship has been a heated one recently. Making the most headlines is the proposed book ban in Texas, with nearly 100 school districts calling to remove library books that deal with race, racism, sex, gender and sexuality.

NBC listed 50 titles that parents have tried to ban in Texas, and the list includes highly acclaimed works such as “The Kite Runner” by Khaled Hosseini, “The Perks of Being A Wallflower" by Stephen Chbosky and “The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison.

But it’s not just Texas. Book bans are spreading across the country so fast, you’d think we’re living out Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.” Which, ironically, doesn't seem to be prohibited yet (this time, at least).

One comic shop owner decided to take a stand by sending free copies of a graphic novel deemed “too graphic” for eighth grade curriculums. And because of his actions, others are following suit.

When Ryan Higgins, owner of Sunnyvale’s Comics Conspiracy (cool shop name), heard the news that Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize winning “Maus” was pulled from the curriculum by the McMinn County Board of Education in Tennessee, he was baffled.

"You can't teach the Holocaust without showing the most graphic imagery that humanity has ever seen,” Higgins told SFGATE. “["Maus"] is nothing compared to the actual thing. It's just mind-boggling that they'd remove it. It's one of the most acclaimed graphic novels of all time, it's just a seminal work. It's been taught in schools and libraries and colleges for decades at this point."

“Maus” depicts the story of Spiegelman’s parents experiencing the Holocaust and their imprisonment at Auschwitz. In the comic, Jews are represented by mice, Germans by cats, Poles by pigs, Americans by dogs and Swedish by deer. Like "Watchmen" and "The Dark Knight Returns," “Maus” played a pivotal role in bringing mature comics to the mainstream.

So why was it banned? Over complaints of profanity and nudity. In particular, a dead nude female mouse, in a scene that reflected the suicide of Spiegelman’s mother.

In USA TODAY, Spiegelman himself called the decision a “culture war that’s gotten totally out of control.”

In anti-Orwellian fashion, Higgins offered to donate up to 100 copies of “Maus” to any interested family in the McMinn County area.

 

Though Higgins has made similar offers in the past, this time around, the pledge went viral. And now it’s a full-blown movement. By Sunday, the complete edition of "Maus" had nabbed the No. 1 spot on the Amazon books best sellers list.

Nirvana Comics in Knoxville has created a fundraiser to help provide more copies to students. Its goal was to raise $20,000. So far, it has raised more than $100,000.

On the fundraiser website, Nirvana Comics hailed Spiegelman’s work as a “masterpiece,” and “one of the most important, impactful and influential graphic novels of all time.”

“We believe it is a must read for everyone,” the store stated.

For Higgins, standing up for impactful works of art is more than fighting the status quo. It’s about being a force for good.

The shop owner told the The Washington Post: ”When thought-provoking comic books and graphic novels are banned, this hits my world. Sending out free copies of ‘Maus’ is something I can do. If even one kid reads it and it changes their world, that’s a wonderful thing.”

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