Young adults are finding it harder to borrow books reflective of their lived experiences in their schools and public libraries. It isn’t because these stories don’t exist — they do — but because they’ve been challenged and removed, restricted, or were never purchased at all, underscoring why urban public library systems are providing access to banned books for young adults 13 and older.

This is especially true in parts of the country where state legislatures have enacted laws criminalizing what educators can and can’t say about politically, religiously, or morally divisive topics, as well as regions where public services are underfunded and access to books is already scarce.

But in recent years, a handful of urban library systems have stepped up to offer readers who are at least 13 years old a chance to read the books that might be unavailable in their home areas.

Since 2022, thousands of eligible young adults have registered for a little-known program called Books Unbanned, which Brooklyn Public Library in New York created that year to counter efforts to restrict access to certain books.

Books Unbanned’s popularity among young readers — more than 8,000 have signed up — comes amid record-breaking book censorship efforts, according to data compiled by the American Library Association. The ALA’s Office of Intellectual Freedom has tracked a more-than-400-percent increase in the number of reported book challenges in the U.S. between 2020 and 2024. The challenges reported to the ALA in 2024 alone targeted 2,452 titles.

The Supreme Court’s recent ruling to allow parents to pull their children out of classroom discussions around books covering LGBTQ+ and other themes that may conflict with their religious beliefs could embolden efforts to restrict more titles.

Brooklyn’s program gives readers between 13 and 21 anywhere in the country the ability to opt in. As it turns out, its digital “banned book” library cards are a bit of a misnomer because they also provide access to materials unaffected by bans.

“It’s our entire book collection,” said Amy Mikel, director of customer experience and librarian at Brooklyn Public Library, one of many urban public library systems offering access to banned books. “Half a million items. You can read whatever you want” that’s in a digital format.

Read the full article about access to banned books by Claire Woodcock at EdSurge.