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How To Get A Banned Book In California
A close up of a book case full of colorful books.
(
Alexis Hunley
/
LAist
)
Topline:
Banned Books Week begins Oct. 1. The annual celebration honors access to free information, and the L.A. County Library is launching the Books Unbanned digital card. It’ll be for teens ages 13 to 18 in California to access frequently banned books.
How the card works: “Our Books Unbanned card is a new digital card that is designed to offer teens 13 to 18 years old throughout the state of California access to books that they might not otherwise have access to because of book challenges or the removals of titles from their libraries or schools,” said Jesse Walker-Lanz, assistant director of public services for the L.A. County Library. The teenagers will have free and unrestricted access to the library’s entire digital eBook and audiobook collection. They can check out up to five books at a time.
The backstory: Supervisors Lindsey Horvath and Janice Hahn passed a motion in June directing the L.A. County Library to expand access to library cards to teenagers across California. This way, teenagers living in places where books are banned can have access to the digital titles.
Why it matters: Books that include LGBTQIA+ and critical race theory content have increasingly come under fire. In April, the Murrietta school board rejected similar books because they said it negatively portrayed former President Donald Trump and contained critical race theory elements. In May, Temecula’s school board rejected social studies books because they contained a section about Harvey Milk, California's first openly gay elected public official. These book bans resulted in a law signed on Monday by Gov. Gavin Newsom that will fine schools that ban books based solely on the inclusion of race, gender, or other identity groups.
To sign up: Teens can visit the website to apply.
Read more ... to learn about book bans in 2023 and Newsom’s new law.
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