Now Live! Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) Launches The Banned Book Club. Its Mission: “To Provide Anyone Who is in a Library That Has Banned a Book Access to the Digital Version For Free”

From a DPLA Announcement:

The Digital Public Library of America (DPLA) has launched The Banned Book Club to ensure that readers in communities affected by book bans can now access banned books for free via Palace e-reader app . The Banned Book Club makes e-book versions of banned books available to readers in locations across the United States where titles have been banned. The e-books will be available to readers for free via the Palace e-reader app.

“At DPLA, our mission is to ensure access to knowledge for all and we believe in the power of technology to further that access,” said John S. Bracken, executive director of Digital Public Library of America. “Today book bans are one of the greatest threats to our freedom, and we have created The Banned Book Club to leverage the dual powers of libraries and digital technology to ensure that every American Can access the books they want to read.”

Utilizing GPS-based geo-targeting, DPLA has established virtual libraries in communities across the United States where books have been banned. When a reader is within a community served by a library that has been forced to ban a book, they can visit TheBannedBookClub.info to see the exact books have been banned in their area. Then, they can download that book for free on any handheld device via the free Palace e-reader app.

To access The Banned Book Club now, download the Palace app, and choose “Banned Book Club” as your library, then follow the prompts to sign up for a free virtual library card. For more specific instructions, click here.

For more information on The Banned Book Club, readers can visit
TheBannedBookClub.info.

See Also: Direct to Banned Book Club FAQ

UPDATED POST: President Obama Tweets About The Banned Book Club

Filed under: Libraries, News, Public Libraries