Coloradans will soon be able to carry a library of banned books right in their pockets \u2014 free of charge.<\/p>\n
Anythink Libraries<\/a>, which serves residents in Adams County, is launching free access to roughly 300 banned and challenged titles and documents for anyone in the state. The release comes in time for national Banned Books Week<\/a>, which runs Oct. 5 – 11. <\/p>\n \u201cIn 2023, there were 120 titles in Colorado that were challenged in public libraries. In 2024 there were 60,\u201d said Anythink executive director Mark Fink. \u201cTo really preserve intellectual freedom and provide access to content and stories that resonate with a variety of audiences, we wanted to create a collection of titles that were more accessible to anybody that lives in the state.\u201d<\/p>\n The new Freedom to Read Collection will be available for free to anyone over the age of 13 through the Palace Project app<\/a> \u2014 no library card required. <\/p>\n \u201cThere are a lot of really powerful literary works that are part of our collection, like 1984, The Bluest Eye, Where the Crawdads Sing, To Kill a Mockingbird, Wicked,\u201d Fink said. \u201cBut we also have nonfiction like Just Mercy, White Fragility, and Queer History of the United States. These are all titles that have been challenged either in Colorado or around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n The app was developed in partnership with the Digital Library of America and operates similar collections in other states. Once you download it to your smartphone, you can select Anythink Libraries, browse the Freedom to Read Collection and take three steps to virtually borrow the material.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe are collecting a very minimal amount of information. Typically you need a library card to access virtual collections, which requires you to provide an address, a birthdate, an email address and a phone number, but we’ve tried to reduce those barriers by only asking people to provide a name and an email address,\u201d Fink said.<\/p>\n The collection will also feature \u201cfoundational documents\u201d like the Constitution, something Fink believes everyone should have access to. \u201cWe subscribed to the American Library Association\u2019s freedom to read statement, which is based on people’s First Amendment right to access material and free speech,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd that includes books that may have an unpopular point of view.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The move follows the final implementation last month of a law passed in 2024<\/a> by Colorado lawmakers designed to regulate how school districts handle book challenges. <\/p>\n\n