In Their Own Words: Reporting & Organizing Youth Testimonials of Censorship from Books Unbanned
database administration & development
equity & inclusion
knowledge organization
Since the launching of the Books Unbanned initiative in April 2022, Brooklyn Public Library and Seattle Public Library have collected nearly 10,000 testimonials from young cardholders. A sample set of cardholder testimonials were analyzed for key themes of censorship, access, and the overall impact of Books Unbanned. Our studies revealed the multitude of barriers that hinder youth from access to books, shedding light on censorship's profound impact. For future data analysis and tracking the impact of Books Unbanned, we developed a database solution to organize and manage the testimonials, as well as recommendations for uploading and tagging future stories.
Marissa Fischer
MLIS
Meghan Foulk
MLIS
Danette Jasper
MLIS
Jessica Roellig
MLIS