Online/Virtual Event

Wednesday, June 5th 2024 from 2:00pm to 3:00pm

See a recording of this webinar here.

In late 2023, Brooklyn Public Library debuted a podcast series entitled Borrowed and Banned that told the story of America’s ideological war with its bookshelves. The series followed the teachers and librarians whose livelihoods were endangered when they spoke up, the writers whose work has become a political battleground, and the young people caught in the middle. 

Over ten episodes, Borrowed and Banned examined the past and the present of censorship in America, beginning with the Library’s impact on one school district in Oklahoma and a teacher’s protest that captured the nation’s attention. Co-hosts Adwoa Adusei and Virginia Marshall talked  to the young activists making a difference in their communities, and shared accurate, up-to-date information about the role of school boards and local government in advocating for or obstructing intellectual freedom.

This webinar focuses on the process of creating the podcast and applying for METRO's Equity in Action Grant. 

About Our Presenters:

Virginia Marshall is the writer, producer, and co-host of Borrowed and Banned. She has been producing audio at Brooklyn Public Library since 2018, including launching the Library’s flagship podcast Borrowed, producing BPL’s podcast for kids, making audio walking tours, assisting BPL staff in creating audio with patrons, and helping out with BPL’s oral history archive.

Adwoa Adusei is co-host and writer of Borrowed and Banned. She is the manager of BPL’s new Library for Arts & Culture, set to open in downtown Brooklyn later this year. She has been a librarian at BPL since 2015, producing 3 short seasons of a community teen podcast series called Brownsville Excerpts, and has been a co-host of Borrowed since the Fall of 2019. 

Noella Scott is the Director of Institutional Giving at BPL.