Borrowed

Borrowed and Returned is a new podcast series that examines what our reading public borrowed in the past, and what we're all reading now. In conversations with library workers, authors and readers across the country, we'll return to the books that changed us, and changed America, too. First episode drops July 8, with new episodes coming out weekly. Spend your summer re-reading with us! 

A new exhibit at BPL's Center for Brooklyn History explores the history and legacy of slavery here in Brooklyn. The team at CBH gathered documents and accounts from people who were touched by slavery in Brooklyn, and traced the descendants of both the enslaved and enslavers. "Trace/s" is up at the Center for Brooklyn History (128 Pierrepont Street) through August 30, 2025. This audio story is a companion to the exhibit, and it was produced by audio journalist and historian Ula Kulpa. Trace/s is supported as part of the Dutch Culture USA FUTURE 400 program by the Consulate General of the Netherlands in New York, and by the Alvin and Fanny B. Thalheimer Foundation in memory of Bill Coleman. You can find more information about the exhibition, and listen to Part 2 of Finding Traces here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/exhibitions/traces

As 2024 comes to a close, we wanted to share with you an episode that we produced all the way back in 2020. That year, we went to Coney Island to record the Coney Island Polar Bear Club, the group of swimmers that congregate on Coney Island every Sunday in winter to swim in the frigid ocean as a way to renew themselves. It's a fun one, and we hope you enjoy!Further resources:Look at historic photos of the Polar Bear Club and Coney Island.Take the plunge with the Polar Bear Club this New Year's Day.Help us shape our next podcast series! Fill out this survey and let us know what books you think changed America. Check out the books we loved in 2024.

Graphic novels, Haitian-American book bingo, and The Power Broker. These are just a few of the book clubs happening at Brooklyn Public Library! This episode, we take a tour around the borough to listen in on our patrons' reading habits and ask why we still read together.Read a transcript of this episode here.Further resources:Check out our book clubs happening across the borough!Want to read The Power Broker? You can join the club at Macon Library or follow along with the podcast 99% Invisible.Read books by Haitian authors for our Haitian Heritage Book Bingo, or comics in Chinese. Join a quiet reading party or an anime club for teens.Check out what our staff are reading in “The Cover Is Blue” book club.

We're pulling out all the stops for the first annual Freedom to Read Day of Action on Saturday, October 19th! Hear from libraries in Los Angeles, San Diego, Hoboken, NJ and Austin, TX about what they're doing to promote the freedom to read. And, if you're in Brooklyn, meet us on the steps of Central Library this Saturday for a book rally!You can read the transcript here. Further resources:Join Brooklyn Public Library on October 19th for our Freedom to Read Day of Action! Or check out events across the country.Visit San Diego Public Library and LA County Library online to learn about their Freedom to Read Day of Action events. And you can brush up on the California Freedom to Read Act. You can read the New York Times story about SDPL's LGBTQ+ book displaysLearn more about Hoboken Library and the book sanctuary movement. Austin Public Library has events planned for October 19th, and a new podcast called Save the Books!

For Banned Books Week this year, we're returning to our award-winning series, Borrowed and Banned. Because the fight isn't over. In 2023, the American Library Association documented a 65% increase in the number of book titles challenged across the country. Listen to the first episode of the series about what happened in one Oklahoma town when their freedom to read was challenged. And how one teacher's response caught the nation's attention.Read the transcript here, and check out the following resources:Like what you hear? Listen to the rest of Borrowed and Banned, our award-winning podcast, series by visiting this page.We've got a week of programming around Banned Books Week this year. Check out our calendar and attend an event in Brooklyn!On October 19, 2024, libraries across the country are coming together for a Freedom to Read Day of Action. Learn more about how you can join!

Bedford-Stuyvesant is perhaps one of Brooklyn's most iconic neighborhoods. Its tree-lined streets and grand brownstones have been here for over 150 years. This episode, a re-broadcast from 2019, tells the story of Bed-Stuy through the lives of three women who set down roots here in different ways: activist Hattie Carthan, writer Paule Marshall, and novelist Naomi Jackson. Read a transcript of this episode here.Further resources:Check out our list of books curated for this episode.Learn more about Hattie Carthan on our Brooklynology blog, or check out the Magnolia Tree Earth Center archive at the Center for Brooklyn History.Visit Magnolia Tree Earth Center. You can also attend their new art exhibition opening on September 7th.Read Paule Marshall's Brown Girl, Brownstones, or her 1983 essay, "From the Poets in the Kitchen."

Splitting her time between Athens, Georgia and Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Nicole A. Taylor is a food writer and author of several cookbooks. She sat down with BPL's Bed-Stuy Tea podcast to discuss finding and preserving her Southern voice, the pleasures of restaurant research, and her favorite local spots to eat and drink. Read a transcript of this episode here.Further resources:Listen to more episodes of Bed-Stuy Tea on our website, or subscribe to BKLYN Community Audio on Spotify or Apple Podcasts so you never miss an episode.Check out the cookbooks and books mentioned on this episode.

It's summer and school's out! No matter what age you are, you can spend your summer at the library with book lists and activities galore. We go over the facts and stats of BPL's popular Culture Pass program, which has helped thousands of New Yorkers visit museums and performance spaces in the city ... for free!Read a transcript of the episode here.More resources:Reserve free passes to museums and performance sites across NYC with Culture Pass (and your library card)!Is there a kid or teen in your life? They can spend their summer at the library with fun events, activities and book lists.Visit Brooklyn Botanic Garden or New-York Historical Society and 100 other cultural institutions and performing arts spaces this summer with Culture Pass.Summer is a great time to get out and visit our libraries! If you haven't started the challenge yet, read about our new prizes for Browse the Branches, the initiative inspiring New Yorkers to visit all 62 BPL branches by the end of the year. Check out these "Explore Your City" summer reading lists for adults, teens and kids of all ages.

Brooklyn Public Library has been hosting Drag Story Hours since 2016. It's one of our most popular, colorful, and well-attended events for kids. In this episode, we explore why Drag Story Hour is important, and how it's had to change in recent years in response to an increasingly tense political climate.More resources:June is Pride Month! Celebrate at the Library with crafting, story times, film screenings and more!Learn more about Drag Story Hour and explore their resources for parents and caregivers.Have a kid? Attend a story time at a library branches across Brooklyn and check out out our recommendations for new LGBTQ+ books to read with your kid.Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Outside of Brooklyn, Arthur Miller's name has largely faded from memory. On this episode, we tell the story of the Black community leader who was killed by NYPD chokehold in 1978, the movement pushed forward as a result of his death, and the ways that Brooklyn Public Library's Center for Brooklyn History helps to keep the story alive.Further resources:Listen to the "Voices of Crown Heights Oral History Collection" or visit the Center for Brooklyn History in person. Check out our list of books created specifically for this episode.Watch a recording of the June 2023 public program "Say His Name, Arthur Miller: A Death By Police Chokehold 45 Years Ago."Listen to the 2018 episode about Arthur Miller on Flatbush + Main,the podcast from the former Brooklyn Historical Society.Visit CBH's online exhibit, "Brooklyn Resists," to learn more about Brooklynites responding to systemic racial injustice over the years, and see photos of the 2020 protests in Brooklyn, contributed by community members.Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Listen in on one of BPL's most popular art programs: a theater workshop where, once a week, budding thespians come together to read plays, talk about character motivations, and dig into some surprisingly emotional and political topics.Read a transcript of this episode on our website.Join fellow thespians at Central Library's theater workshop. Or, find a creative writing workshop at branches across BPL.Read along with the theater workshop by checking out the plays on our booklist.The Library needs your help to protect our funding or risk losing over 16 million dollars. Send a letter to your elected officials.  Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

We revisit an episode from January 2021 in honor of National Library Workers Day, and ask: what do librarians do all day? When they're not planning programs or working the reference desk, these librarians are also obscure trivia players, birders and ... sword fighters! Read a transcript here.Have a minute? Vote for Borrowed and Banned in the Webby's! We were nominated for an award in the "Best Writing for Podcasts" category. Celebrate National Library Workers Day by thanking your favorite library worker or attending one of BPL's National Library Week events.Listen to "On the Frontlines," an episode from our Borrowed and Banned series about library workers fighting for the freedom to read.Check out these lists of hobby books for adults and for kids.Read our blog posts about birding with kids and historical birding in Prospect Park.Not for the faint of heart: Learned League. Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Teens and older adults are perhaps the two age groups you might think have the least in common. But a new program at BPL seeks to bring the two generations together ... by having them debate.Read a transcript of this episode on our web page.Resources mentioned on this episode:Learn more about services for older adults at BPL and programs for teens!Listen to "Bridging the Gap," a podcast series on our BKLYN Community Audio feed and check out these books about debate.Take this very short survey to let us know what you think about Bridging the Gap: Intergenerational Debate at BPL. Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Brooklyn has 62 neighborhood libraries, each with a distinct architecture, culture, and soul. To kick off the new season and to celebrate our audio stories coming home to Brooklyn, we'll take a tour of the borough with the help of our neighborhood libraries and some of our stalwart patrons who visited all 62 of them ... in a matter of days!Read a transcript of this episode.Take our Browse the Branches challenge! Not in New York City? You can read your way through the branches with this book list.Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for our city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library and New York Public Library.Did you miss our dedicated series about book bans? Never fear. You can binge every episode of Borrowed and Banned now. Start with our first episode.Help us keep our libraries open by fighting for city funding. Write to your city leaders! Or, send a letter on behalf of Queens Public Library or New York Public Library.

Student activists in York, Pennsylvania organized a silent protest when hundreds of books were banned from their classrooms, paving the way for lasting change in their community. In this final episode of the series, we tackle the challenge head-on: from encouraging open dialogue about the books on our shelves to the ongoing work of protecting the freedom to read.  Read the transcript here. Our call to action for this episode: How will you use the stories you've heard over the course of this series to protect the freedom to read? Send a voice message to podcasts [at] bklynlibrary [dot] org and tell us what you're seeing in your community, or what you want to see. We might play your voice on an upcoming bonus episode, so be sure to introduce yourself with your name, your age, and your location.  More resources: Watch Edha and Christina's TEDx Talk and follow their advocacy organization, EmpowerED.  Read about the new "Fight Book Bans Act" introduced in Congress.  Learn about PEN America's work to catalog book bans, including a recent report that identifies a culture of fear and intimidation. Writer George M. Johnson wrote about BPL's Chief Librarian Nick Higgins as a 2023 TIME100 Next Person of the Year. Check out every book mentioned on our Borrowed and Banned series! (Psst. You can check them out with a Books Unbanned library card.)

Library workers often risk their livelihoods when they speak out against censorship, spurring community members to pick up the fight for intellectual freedom. We tell the story of how one Louisiana parish came together to defend their library amidst book challenges, tip lines, and even sign burning. Read the transcript here. Our call to action for this episode: Find the people in your community who care about public libraries and get together with them. More resources: EveryLibrary Institute is an organization that seeks to build voter support for libraries. Learn more about their support of St. Tammany Library Alliance here.  Book Riot and EveryLibrary teamed up to survey parents about their perceptions of public libraries and book bans. Read the full results of the survey here. Read Emily Drabinski's essay about St. Tammany Library and a report in the Louisiana Illuminator about the chaotic regularity of book challenges in the parish.  Most people oppose book bans, according to surveys from the American Library Association and CBS. Check out this list of challenged and banned children's books.

Maia Kobabe's debut memoir, Gender Queer, was the most frequently banned book in 2021 and 2022. We talked with em about what it's like to be on the recieving end of so many challenges, and the importance of public libraries. More resources: Check out Gender Queer. Find Maia's resources for defending Gender Queer, and eir recent comic about book bans and libraries. Read The Washington Post's article on book bans.  

Despite being one of the most frequently banned authors, Toni Morrison's work has inspired countless others to tell stories outside the mainstream. We take a closer look at Morisson's writing, her legacy, and her impact on the anti-censorship movement. Read the transcript here. Our call to action for this episode: Learn how you can support and defend public libraries at Libraries for the People. More resources: Read Toni Morrison's books. If you're a young person, you can apply for a Books Unbanned card to check out digital library books for free. Listen to Toni Morrison's full 2016 talk that was part of the BPL Presents series Brooklyn by the Book, co-curated by Community Books, BPL Presents & Congregation Beth Elohim. Watch Toni Morrison's speech when she accepted PEN America's PEN/Borders Literary Service Award in 2008. Learn more about the National Coalition Against Censorship's Student Advocates for Speech program.

George M. Johnson talks about their debut Young Adult memoir All Boys Aren't Blue, the support of their family, their love of Toni Morrison, and the importance of standing against book bans.  Read the transcript here. Resources: Check out All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson.  Read about Johnson's family supporting their book when it was challenged in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. Access other banned books with our free Books Unbanned library card for teens.  

Mike Curato talks about his award-winning graphic novel Flamer, his writing practice, and how it feels to have his story vaulted into national headlines as parents, politicians, and school boards campaign to remove his book from school and library shelves. Read the transcript here. Resources: Check out Flamer from BPL, or other books by Mike Curato. See what books were most frequently challenged in 2022, according to the America Library Association. This conversation touches on suicide. If you or someone you know is experiencing suicidal thoughts or is in crisis, you can talk to someone at the suicide and crisis lifeline. Just call 988. It's free, and it's available 24 hours a day.  

Over the past few years, school board races have become more heated and more political — and books have become the center of that political storm. We look at what happened in Keller, Texas when an ultra-conservative group took over the school board. You can read a transcript of this episode here. Our call to action for this episode: Find out when the next school board meeting is happening in your community, and show up. Unite Against Book Bans has an Action Toolkit with advice for how to talk about book bans, and how to contact your local officials about the freedom to read. More resources: PEN America has been tracking states with "educational gag orders" in place or pending. Read their anyalisis here. Read ProPublica's investigation into chaos at school boards, and Nicole Carr's reporting on one school board in Cherokee County, Georgia. Submit an anonymous testimonial to help us document how teens, parents, educators and community members are fighting for their freedom to read. Check out some of the books mentioned on this episode.

It's an off-week for Borrowed and Banned, but we do have something special to share. We're doing a collaboration with PRX's Radiotopia, and they sent along an episode from one of their shows that is really relevant to our series.    This Day in Esoteric Political History is a podcast that tells the story of one moment from US history that took place on a particular day -- and discuss what it might have to teach us about our current moment. Back in 2020, the hosts did an episode about the banning of James Joyce's Ulysses and the history of obscenity laws. Their episode actually picks up where we left off last episode. We hope you enjoy their episode! You can subscribe to This Day in Esoteric Political History wherever you listen to podcasts. We'll be back next week with another episode of Borrowed and Banned.  

The birth of obscenity laws in the 1870s provides a cautionary tale for the present moment, when far-right conservatives incorrectly label books “sexually explicit” as a way to provoke outrage in communities nationwide. This episode, we delve into the parallels that history can reveal and hear from students in Texas fighting for their freedom to read.  You can read a transcript of this episode here. Our calls to action for this episode: Be an ally and an advocate for the teens in your life. Start a conversation about what matters to them, and how you can help. Support getting more LGBTQ+ affirming books into classrooms: Rainbow Library is a program created by GLSEN that allows school staff to request a set of 10 free LGBTQ+ books for their own classrooms.  More resources Check out some of the books mentioned in this episode. If you live anywhere in the US and are between the ages of 13 and 21, you can check out those books (and many more!) with a Books Unbanned library card.  Learn more about Cameron Samuels, Da'Taeveyon Daniels, and their organization SEAT: Students Engaged in Advancing Texas. Read the PEN America reports about book bans in schools for the 2021-2022 school year, and 2022-2023. Delve into the history of censorship with Amy Werbel's book Lust on Trial and read her article about the parallels to today, co-authored with PEN America's Free Expression and Education Director Jonathan Friedman

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. Seattle Public Library now also has a Books Unbanned card that you can apply to up to age 26. 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

We're doing something a little bit different today and sharing an episode from a totally different podcast we love … it's called Grown, and it's from the Moth.   Grown is all about the experience of growing up. There's conversations, true stories told live, and young people grappling with big questions. Read more about Grown and subscribe at grownpod.com. We hope you enjoy!   About the episode: "Natural hair. A culture festival. Middle school jerks. In this episode, we hear stories of culture, identity, and how the two intertwine. Oleeta Fogden gets her first period, and Katiana Ciceron talks about the time her pastor touched her hair. Then, Aleeza and Fonzo get an update from Katiana on how she feels about her story now. Hosted by: Aleeza Kazmi and Fonzo Lacayo. Storytellers: Oleeta Fogden and Katiana Cicero."

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.  Read the transcript and check out additional resources here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/teens-are-offline    Listen to Undiscarded: Stories of New York: https://undiscarded.org/ 

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 

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 

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 

Did you know there are some public libraries that loan out snowshoes? And cement mixers? And Santa suits? This episode, we try to calculate what your public library is worth, and ask how you can give back to support public libraries. Read the transcript and find more resources here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/whats-your-library-worth

With tablets, Legos, and coding, these fourteen teams from library branches across Brooklyn met at Central Library to compete in the final championship of Brooklyn Robotics League — resulting in what is surely one of our loudest stories ever.  Read a transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/go-robots-go 

We love love at the library, so for Valentine's Day this year, we're devoting the episode Romance Novels! We'll learn how Romance covers hint at what's between them, and chat with writer Nichole Perkins about how the genre is diversifying. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/happily-ever-after 

La Hora Mágica has been the heart of Sunset Park's storytime programming for a decade now, highlighting songs and stories in Spanish and English for speakers of all different languages. Read the transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/la-hora-m%C3%A1gica 

Dyker Heights, Brooklyn is a destination this time of year, with houses decked out in lights drawing visitors from all around the world. And inside Dyker Library, a strong community gathers to sing, play mahjong, do yoga, and so much more.  You can find a transcript of this episode here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/dyker-singers-dyker 

From “the most expensive pigeon roost in the world” to one of the world's most unique libraries, Brooklyn's Central Library has many stories to tell. We'll dive into the history of Central Library, hear from Brooklynites starting small businesses, and one patron's path from homelessness to determined author. Find the transcript and book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/rebroadcast-work-progress  Take our new audio tour of Central Library: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/central-tour 

This Thanksgiving, meet the people who run Central Library's café and get a peak into their kitchen on the Library's third floor, where fourteen students speaking seven different language meet every day. This episode is a collaboration with Emma's Torch, a workforce development program that empowers refugees through the culinary arts and job placement services. Read the transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/family-meal 

In honor of Veterans Day, we are bringing you four stories of service, from veterans who served in World War II, Vietnam, the Persian Gulf, and Iraq. Three voices come to us from interviews collected at BPL for the Veterans History Project at the Library of Congress. Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/stories-service  

To honor the tenth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, we are returning to an episode we produced in 2019 about the impact of the storm on our library system, and how libraries can become information centers, shelters and community spaces in the wake of natural disaster. Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/rebroadcast-weathering

Book bans and challenges have been on the rise in the past few years. When BPL launched a free eCard to give out-of-state teens access to our eBook collection, including many banned titles, we saw an incredible response. We look at the impact of that initiative, and our own history of censorship over the past 125 years. Check out our book list and transcript here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/books-unbanned