Many people opposed to bans are taking it upon themselves to find creative ways to put books where young readers will see them鈥攐utside of schools. Pop-up banned-book libraries, banned-book giveaways and even a banned bookmobile have appeared around the nation in an ad hoc kind of counteroffensive.
There’s also been a spike in Little Free Libraries stuffed with banned books. The number of those curbside boxes on posts rose during the pandemic and climbed even higher last year as book bans spread around the nation. There were 140,000 Little Free Libraries in 2022, up 35% from 2020, according to the nonprofit Little Free Library, which has been encouraging the growth. The organization says some 87% of its members report that they share banned books.
It’s becoming something of a cat-and-mouse game. As activists come up with creative ways around book bans, the other side is starting to look at how to quash those end runs, which only leaves activists even more determined.
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