‘Knowledge is power’: new app helps US teens read books banned in school via The Guardian [Shared]

‘Knowledge is power’: new app helps US teens read books banned in school via The Guardian

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At home, the book helped Saffy feel comfortable and confident with gender expression.

But at school, Gender Queer was banned.

For the past two years, book banning has been on the rise in schools and libraries across the US, mainly due to far-right pressure. The bans are pushed either by local actors, like anxious parents and parent-led groups or by politicians through broader state-level laws. A recent PEN America study found that the bans were most prevalent this year in Florida, Texas, Utah, Missouri and South Carolina.

Consistently, these bans target materials written by and about people of color or LGBTQ+ individuals, and even though a 2022 poll found that 70% of parents oppose them, they are continuing at a rapid rate.

Now the Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) is trying to fight back. It recently launched the Banned Book Program, granting free nationwide access to books restricted in schools or libraries.

Read this entire article – ‘Knowledge is power’: new app helps US teens read books banned in school via The Guardian

Get the Banned Books App