The Chapel Hill Public Library has a new initiative aimed at raising awareness about book banning. The "Right to Read" is a postcard campaign created in response to book bans targeting marginalized voices, specifically Black and LGBTQ+ authors and stories.
During previous “book ban weeks” the library's staff used trading cards, with art on the back about banned books. Hannah Olson, a spokesperson for the Chapel Hill Public Library said they are using postcards this year.
“We've printed a series of postcards with statistics about book challenges, that we're encouraging people to send to politicians, to library boards, school boards, to urge them to stop book bans,” she said.
The library also has an education exhibit inside that shows more information about book banning and the top 13 books banned across the country. According to the American Library Association, up to 97% of challenges go unreported.
The Chapel Hill Library is defending the rights of patrons in its community, Olson said.
“We're a hub of information, and we want to be a space for everybody,” she said. “We want our books to reflect the community and we want everybody in the community to be able to read what they want to.”
The American Library Association collects reports of challenged books.