A ‘teen council’ at the Brooklyn Public Library combats book bans nationwide

A teen from New Mexico recently had an urgent message for his peers in New York City: “You always think it can’t happen to you until it does.”

Ivan Torres, 18, shared his experience with local students through the Brooklyn Public Library’s Intellectual Freedom Teen Council. The unique program connects kids from the most populous U.S. city with teens from states where book bans are roiling communities.

Torres recalled how a small group of activists in his hometown of Rio Rancho – population 104,046 – sought the removal of several books from libraries, including “Never a Girl, Always a Boy,” a transgender memoir by Jo Ivester, and “This Book is Gay,” a guidebook for queer life by Juno Dawson.

Speakers at a Rio Rancho City Council hearing said the books were “predatory” and had “no social value.” One member of the group that sought the works’ removal reportedly said the effort was about “protecting our children.”

According to the American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, there were 1,269 calls to censor library materials in 2022, the highest number of attempted book bans since the association began documenting them more than 20 years ago. The most challenged books last year were “Gender Queer” by Maia Kobabe; “All Boys Aren’t Blue” by George M. Johnson; “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison; “Flamer” by Mike Curato; “Looking for Alaska” by John Green; and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” by Stephen Chbosky.

While there have been scattered reports of parents criticizing books distributed to New York City’s public schools in recent years, particularly “Our Skin: A First Conversation About Race,” by Megan Madison and Jessica Ralli, the five boroughs have remained relatively insulated from the book challenges that have spread across the country.

Teen councilmembers say they’ve learned a surprising lesson from out-of-state students: Books on the required reading list in many New York City schools…