Banned Books

Books Unbanned Card for California Teens
Your freedom to read is a fundamental right. To help support teenagers ages 13-18 in California, LA County Library’s Books Unbanned initiative offers unrestricted access to the Library’s entire digital eBook and audiobook collection on Libby, by OverDrive, which includes many frequently-banned titles. The Books Unbanned card allows 5 checkouts at a time and is valid for one year.

Preserve Your Intellectual Freedom

Your freedom to read is a fundamental right. Reading is among our greatest freedoms and provides endless opportunities for people to learn about different life experiences, cultures, and the world. As a champion for intellectual freedom, LA County Library has partnered with Brooklyn Public Library and Seattle Public Library to join the Books Unbanned initiative, a response to the growing number of book bans and challenges cropping up across the nation. Boston Public Library and San Diego Public Library are also joining Books Unbanned.

Anyone  Los Angeles County resident 18 years old can sign up for a Digital Library Card (or California teenagers ages 13-18 can sign up for a Books Unbanned Card).

Banned Books Week celebrates the freedom to read and spotlights current and historical attempts to censor books in libraries and schools. For more than 40 years, the annual event has brought together the entire book community—librarians, teachers, booksellers, publishers, writers, journalists, and readers of all types—in shared support of the freedom to seek and to express ideas, even those some consider unorthodox or unpopular.

The books featured during Banned Books Week at LAPL have all been targeted for removal or restriction in libraries and schools. By focusing on efforts across the country to remove or restrict access to books, Banned Books Week draws national attention to the harms of censorship.