Books Unbanned Teen Advocacy Toolkit: Centering Teens in the Fight Against Censorship

Since 2020, attempts to ban books from school and public libraries have continued to rise to an unprecedented level across the country. These challenges disproportionately include young adult books and books that reflect the experiences of marginalized communities. Young people are our most valuable asset when it comes to the fight against censorship, but activating them can be a challenge for libraries with limited time, money, and competing priorities.

Our library has leveraged its almost three years of experience working with teens on the topic of intellectual freedom to develop a free downloadable toolkit that will be available to any library looking to build out teen civic engagement programming. The kit includes activities, lessons, and tools for engaging youth in the fight against censorship. These resources can be used for one-off programs or as part of an ongoing series.

In this session, attendees will get a sneak preview of the toolkit and learn how to implement it in libraries, regardless of size, location, or budget. They will hear directly from teen interns about their experience developing civic engagement skills and becoming strong library advocates and community leaders after their participation in the programs this toolkit was based on.

Attendees will have an opportunity to share their experiences with library censorship and engaging teens in the fight for intellectual freedom. They will also receive printed activities pulled from the toolkit and information on where to download the full kit.