New York City’s three public library systems are taking a stand against censorship with a new Banned Books Challenge: 10 banned or contested books that expert librarians recommend New Yorkers borrow and read.
The Brooklyn Public Library, the New York Public Library (serving the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island) and the Queens Public Library are putting together one of the recommended books: popular title for young adults and winner of the National Book Award 2021, the book Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo, available without waiting through the free e-reading apps through June 26.
Additional physical copies of the book, listed in the list of New York Public Library’s best teen books of 2021, will also be available throughout the system; some branches will also host book club discussions on the book aimed specifically at teens (as many banned and contested books are titles for older adults, and teens have been hit particularly hard by the pandemic lockdown).
The 10 titles include:
- The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline
- Will Grayson, Will Grayson de John Green & David Levithan
- Being Jazz: My Life as a (Transgender) Teen by Jazz Jennings
- All Boys Aren’t Blue by George M. Johnson
- Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You by Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds
- Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo
- The Bluest Eye de Toni Morrison
- 1984 de George Orwell
- Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez
- This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki, illustration by Jillian Tamaki
For more information on this challenge and to read the books go here.
More information can be found at bklynlibrary.org, nypl.org/bannedbookschallenge o queenslibrary.org.
The Banned Books Challenge is launched as a statement against the growing national trend of book bans. The American Library Association (ALA) recently announced that it tracked an “unprecedented” number of challenges for library, school and university materials in 2021: 729 challenges for 1,597 individual books. This is more than double the challenges tracked in 2019. The books being challenged often focus on race, LGBTQ+ issues, religion, and history.
Last Night at the Telegraph Club, a Penguin Random House title that explores issues of race and sexuality, has been the subject of such book banning efforts, including in Texas earlier this year. The story centers on Lily Hu, a teenager living in 1950s Chinatown who falls in love with another woman in an environment that is not conducive to LGBTQ relationships. Her romance, coupled with the red scare paranoia, creates a high-stakes situation that could cost Lily’s father his citizenship.
When the title won the National Book Award in 2021, author Malinda Lo referenced “opposition to our stories” in an emotional acceptance speech, highlighting the “pressure to remove books about people of color, LGBTQ people, and especially transgender people from classrooms and libraries. . I urge everyone watching to educate themselves. . . we need your support to keep our stories on the shelves. Don’t let them erase us.”
The Banned Books Challenge is an effort to do just that: make a statement against censorship and organized efforts to erase identities, and connect New Yorkers with a book that they will not only enjoy, but can help build understanding and empathy: the necessary tools to fight against ignorance and hate.
From May 23 to June 26, the challenge launches during Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month and on the eve of LGBTQ Pride Month, contributing to strong efforts across all three systems of libraries to celebrate and honor those who identify as part of those groups.
It’s also worth noting that the New York Public Library’s Chatham Square Branch previously ran a program around the title in early 2022, in partnership with the San Francisco Public Library and the New York City Department of Education. York to make a coast-to-coast Chinatown book club about Last Night at the Telegraph Club. Around 150 eighth graders at two New York City schools in Chinatown read and discussed the book alongside organizing librarians, then had a virtual discussion with their San Francisco student counterparts and author Malinda Lo.
“Open access to books and information is the core mission of the Brooklyn Public Library and an essential component of a thriving democracy. Reading encourages critical thinking, introduces us to diverse points of view, and, perhaps most importantly, helps young people learn to respect each other and themselves. That is why we are especially delighted to launch the NYC Banned Book Challenge with award winning title Last Night at the Telegraph Cluba moving story of love and identity,” said Linda E. Johnson, president of the Brooklyn Public Library.
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