Brooklyn Public Library is full of stories. Borrowed brings the very best of them to you. Borrowed is a narrative series about superhero... more
We're pulling out all the stops for the first annual Freedom to Read Day of Action on Saturday, October 19th!... more
For Banned Books Week this year, we’re returning to our award-winning series, Borrowed and Banned. Because the fight isn’t over.... more
Bedford-Stuyvesant is perhaps one of Brooklyn’s most iconic neighborhoods. Its tree-lined streets and grand brownstones have been here for over... more
Splitting her time between Athens, Georgia and Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, Nicole A. Taylor is a food writer and author of several... more
It's summer and school's out! No matter what age you are, you can spend your summer at the library with... more
Brooklyn Public Library has been hosting Drag Story Hours since 2016. It's one of our most popular, colorful, and well-attended... more
Outside of Brooklyn, Arthur Miller's name has largely faded from memory. On this episode, we tell the story of the... more
Listen in on one of BPL's most popular art programs: a theater workshop where, once a week, budding thespians come... more
We revisit an episode from January 2021 in honor of National Library Workers Day, and ask: what do librarians do... more
Teens and older adults are perhaps the two age groups you might think have the least in common. But a... more
Brooklyn has 62 neighborhood libraries, each with a distinct architecture, culture, and soul. To kick off the new season and... more
Student activists in York, Pennsylvania organized a silent protest when hundreds of books were banned from their classrooms, paving the... more
Library workers often risk their livelihoods when they speak out against censorship, spurring community members to pick up the fight... more
Maia Kobabe's debut memoir, Gender Queer, was the most frequently banned book in 2021 and 2022. We talked with em... more
Despite being one of the most frequently banned authors, Toni Morrison’s work has inspired countless others to tell stories outside... more
George M. Johnson talks about their debut Young Adult memoir All Boys Aren't Blue, the support of their family, their... more
Our call to action for this episode:Talk about the books that are important to you, even if they aren’t challenged.Stay... more
Mike Curato talks about his award-winning graphic novel Flamer, his writing practice, and how it feels to have his story... more
Over the past few years, school board races have become more heated and more political — and books have become... more
It’s an off-week for Borrowed and Banned, but we do have something special to share. We’re doing a collaboration... more
The birth of obscenity laws in the 1870s provides a cautionary tale for the present moment, when far-right conservatives incorrectly... more
When a high school teacher in Norman, Oklahoma shared a QR code with her students that would grant them access... more
Last year, over 2,500 unique titles were challenged in libraries across the country. That’s the highest number in over 20... more
We’re doing something a little bit different today and sharing an episode from a totally different podcast we love …... more
Over 14,000 patrons have signed up for their first library card since Jay-Z's exhibit came to Central Library in mid-July.... more
Kesha Powell and Amen Emile have been working at BPL for over 20 years in various roles, from public safety... more
If you ask Hannah Jean what would be her greatest wish, she will say running Brooklyn Public Library. Last month,... more
Meet the Luddite Club, a group of library-loving, flip-phone-toting teenagers in Brooklyn who come together every week out of a... more
Asylum seekers continue to arrive in New York City. We look at how one faith-based organization is responding to the... more
Este episodio es sobre los solicitantes de asilo en la ciudad de Nueva York. Estamos compartiendo estas narrativas personales con... more
Last year, New York City began to see an increase in the number of migrants seeking asylum. The library is... more
Did you know there are some public libraries that loan out snowshoes? And cement mixers? And Santa suits? This episode,... more
With tablets, Legos, and coding, these fourteen teams from library branches across Brooklyn met at Central Library to compete in... more
We love love at the library, so for Valentine's Day this year, we're devoting the episode Romance Novels! We'll learn... more
La Hora Mágica has been the heart of Sunset Park’s storytime programming for a decade now, highlighting songs and stories... more
Dyker Heights, Brooklyn is a destination this time of year, with houses decked out in lights drawing visitors from all... more
From “the most expensive pigeon roost in the world” to one of the world’s most unique libraries, Brooklyn’s Central Library... more
This Thanksgiving, meet the people who run Central Library's café and get a peak into their kitchen on the Library's... more
In honor of Veterans Day, we are bringing you four stories of service, from veterans who served in World War... more
To honor the tenth anniversary of Superstorm Sandy, we are returning to an episode we produced in 2019 about the... more
Will you visit your library this summer? To kick off a season of reading, we thought we'd have some fun!... more
Book bans and challenges have been on the rise in the past few years. When BPL launched a free eCard... more
From defunct recording technology to vinyl’s comeback, we've been through a lot of media changes over the last 125 years.... more
In 1996, we were one of the first libraries in the nation to connect our patrons to the internet. Today,... more
A lot had changed since Melvil Dewey came up with a classification system to organize all known and not-yet-known knowledge... more
Libraries weren't always located in their own stately buildings. Many of our branches used to operate out of pharmacies, laundry... more
On October 5th, 2021, all three public library systems in New York City eliminated late fines. The change was 125... more
In this season of Borrowed, we’ll take a look at what the library was like 125 years ago, the radical... more
The story of Canarsie in reverse, from the racial unrest in the 1990s, to the anti-integration school boycotts in the... more
In the early 1900s, if you walked around Sunset Park, you might have heard Finnish being spoken on the streets.... more
From defunct recording technology to vinyl’s comeback, we've been through a lot of media changes over the last 125 years. And we're... more