Happy Birthday, BPL!

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Happy Birthday, BPL!

FromBorrowed

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Length:

5 minutes

Released:

Nov 30, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Description

In this season of Borrowed, we’ll take a look at what the library was like 125 years ago, the radical ideas that founded public libraries across the country, as well as our missteps along the way.

Released:

Nov 30, 2021

Format:

Podcast episode

Titles in the series (91)

Brooklyn has so many stories to tell, and a lot of them start at the library. Every other week, “Borrowed” brings you stories that start here and take you somewhere new. We're talking to people starting businesses, finding their roots, playing Dungeons & Dragons, creating community—and of course, borrowing books! Brought to you by Brooklyn Public Library.

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Getting Home: It’s not an uncommon experience to be unstably housed in this country. From Brooklyn to San Francisco, communities often turn to public libraries for valuable information, social services and for a safe and comfortable place to be. This episode, we... by Borrowed
26 min listen
Free Brooklyn: Four hundred years later, this country has yet to reckon with the legacy of slavery. And that is no less true for Brooklyn. This episode, we’re taking a cue from The 1619 Project and telling important stories about the struggle for freedom, from a... by Borrowed
29 min listen
Oil Spills and Moldy Paper: How are libraries archiving the past while also documenting the present? by Borrowed
26 min listen
Books Are Not Dead: Books are alive and well... and circulating. by Borrowed
23 min listen
From Montgomery to East New York: We dig into the history of a once-unacknowledged African burial ground in East New York, Brooklyn, and ask how a new library branch can honor that legacy. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: by Borrowed
35 min listen
Work in Progress: For 29 years, Brooklyn’s Central Library was a work in progress. Now, BPL’s largest branch offers dozens of ways to help you find work. by Borrowed
24 min listen
Building Brooklyn: Like Coming Home: In the middle of the 20th century, a ten square block area in North Gowanus was home to the largest Mohawk settlement outside of Canada. We hear about the Mohawk women who built that community while their husbands and fathers were building... by Borrowed
30 min listen
Borrowed, Live!: For our first ever live show, we went back to the basics and talked about books! Listen to our librarians as they match audience members to books on the spot, reveal what, in fact, is the real number-one-checked-out-book in Brooklyn and recommend... by Borrowed
45 min listen
Check This Out: Borrowed is back for season two! by Borrowed
8 min listen
Plunging into the New Year: To ring in the new year, take a dive into the stories of the Coney Island Polar Bear Club. We hear from voices from across New York City—a cop speaking openly about his wife's drug addiction, recent Russian immigrants looking for tradition, and a... by Borrowed
12 min listen
Introducing 'Borrowed': Stories that start at the library. by Borrowed
3 min listen
Teens Take Over: Fortnite and D&D? The library according to teens. by Borrowed
23 min listen
Weathering the Storm: From Sandy in Brooklyn to Maria in Puerto Rico, a look at how libraries can respond to storms. by Borrowed
24 min listen
Librarians, Live!: We’re getting in your ears to tell you about our first ever live recording of Borrowed! It’s free, at 5pm on Sunday, January 26 at Union Hall, as a part of Brooklyn Podcast Festival (event details here: ). And, we’re collaborating... by Borrowed
3 min listen
Something to Offend Everyone: What does it mean to challenge censorship at the library? by Borrowed
24 min listen
Blocks and Brownstones: Perhaps Brooklyn’s most iconic neighborhood is Bedford-Stuyvesant. The tree-lined streets and grand brownstones have been here for over 150 years, while the Brooklynites who call those brownstones home are constantly changing. In this episode, we... by Borrowed
28 min listen
Stories from the Pandemic: In an unprecedented time of stress and resilience, many Brooklynites are at the front lines of responding to the coronavirus crisis, and many more are encountering a new normal, as we adjust to changing work, education, housing, and even access to... by Borrowed
30 min listen
Carnegie's Legacy: Andrew Carnegie has a classic rags-to-riches story: an immigrant turned steel magnate who financed the construction of over 2,500 public library buildings worldwide, including 21 in Brooklyn. But, his business and labor policies often hurt the very... by Borrowed
32 min listen
New Americans: Stories of immigration at the library. by Borrowed
22 min listen
Get Counted: The census doesn’t just distribute representatives in congress and billions of dollars in federal funds—it determines city bus routes, how many garbage cans are on your block, and whether a grocery store opens in your neighborhood.... by Borrowed
34 min listen
Across the Reference Desk: Even librarians know: most of the time, you can Google it. by Borrowed
21 min listen
Throwing It Out: We're talking trash at the library today. Specifically, the story of a 3,000-ton garbage barge that made a scene in Brooklyn in the 1980s… and, we ask what happens to library books when they get too old. Finally, we take a trip to East Harlem, where... by Borrowed
22 min listen
Three Brooklyn Stories: Listen to three Brooklynites talk about their personal connections to places across the borough. We’ll hear from a Walt Whitman scholar at the base of the Brooklyn Bridge, an LGBTQ activist in Brighton Beach, and one of Biggie’s biggest fans on a... by Borrowed
13 min listen
Books Unbanned: Book bans and challenges have been on the rise in the past few years. When BPL launched a free eCard to give out-of-state teens access to our eBook collection, including many banned titles, we saw an incredible response. We look at the impact of that... by Borrowed
27 min listen
Our Garbage, Ourselves: At the edge of Brooklyn, there’s a beach covered with glass bottles, nylon stockings, rusting kitchen appliances, and decaying batteries. The trash didn’t float here, though. It’s eroding from a poorly-covered landfill. We start this episode at... by Borrowed
22 min listen
Rebroadcast: Free Brooklyn: In honor of Juneteenth 2020, the anniversary of the day in 1865 when the news was finally delivered to Galveston, Texas that slavery in the United States had been abolished, we are returning to an episode from earlier in our season. "Free Brooklyn"... by Borrowed
28 min listen
A Writer Grows in Brooklyn: This borough has always been full of bards. by Borrowed
33 min listen
Secret Lives of Librarians: What do librarians do all day? When they're not planning programs or working the reference desk, these librarians are also obscure trivia players, birders and ... sword fighters! Read the transcript and check out our book list here: by Borrowed
16 min listen
Marching Onward: From Selma, Alabama to Brooklyn, New York — we look at how racial violence and racial memory impacts our country and our libraries. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: by Borrowed
24 min listen
Social Distancing? We're Here For You!: Working from home? Kids at home? The library is here for you! We’ve got virtual resources galore to help you keep a healthy social distance during the coronavirus outbreak. Check out eBooks & Audiobooks: Attend virtual... by Borrowed
24 min listen

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Say His Name: Arthur Miller by Borrowed
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Rebroadcast: Secret Lives of Librarians by Borrowed
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The Challenge: Student activists in York, Pennsylvania organized a silent protest when hundreds of books were banned from their classrooms, paving the way for lasting change in their community. In this final episode of the series, we tackle the challenge head-on:... by Borrowed
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On the Frontlines: Library workers often risk their livlihoods when they speak out against censorship, spurring community members to pick up the fight for intellectual freedom. We tell the story of how one Louisiana parish came together to defend... by Borrowed
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An Interview with Maia Kobabe: Maia Kobabe's debut memoir, Gender Queer, was the most frequently banned book in 2021 and 2022. We talked with em about what it's like to be on the recieving end of so many challenges, and the importance of public libraries. More resources: ... by Borrowed
20 min listen
Beloved Blues: Despite being one of the most frequently banned authors, Toni Morrison’s work has inspired countless others to tell stories outside the mainstream. We take a closer look at Morisson's writing, her legacy, and her impact on the anti-censorship... by Borrowed
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An Interview with George M. Johnson: George M. Johnson talks about their debut Young Adult memoir All Boys Aren't Blue, the support of their family, their love of Toni Morrison, and the importance of standing against book bans. Read the . Resources: Check... by Borrowed
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Battle of the Classics by Borrowed
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An Interview with Mike Curato: Mike Curato talks about his award-winning graphic novel Flamer, his writing practice, and how it feels to have his story vaulted into national headlines as parents, politicians, and school boards campaign to remove his book from school and... by Borrowed
19 min listen
Of Parents and School Boards: Over the past few years, school board races have become more heated and more political — and books have become the center of that political storm. We look at what happened in Keller, Texas when an ultra-conservative... by Borrowed
29 min listen
This Day in Esoteric Political History: United States vs One Book Called Ulysses (1933): It’s an off-week for Borrowed and Banned, but we do have something special to share. We’re doing a collaboration with PRX’s , and they sent along an episode from one of their shows that is really relevant to our series. is a... by Borrowed
21 min listen
Seen and Obscene: The birth of obscenity laws in the 1870s provides a cautionary tale for the present moment, when far-right conservatives incorrectly label books “sexually explicit” as a way to provoke outrage in communities nationwide. This episode, we delve into... by Borrowed
29 min listen
All for a Library Card: When a high school teacher in Norman, Oklahoma shared a QR code with her students that would grant them access to BPL’s digital collection, she took a stand against a restrictive state law. That act of resistance made her first day of school ...... by Borrowed
29 min listen
Introducing: Borrowed and Banned: Last year, over 2,500 unique titles were challenged in libraries across the country. That’s the highest number in over 20 years. On Borrowed and Banned, we tell the story of America’s ideological war with its bookshelves by talking with... by Borrowed
5 min listen
An Episode from Grown: Culture and Identity: We’re doing something a little bit different today and sharing an episode from a totally different podcast we love … it’s called Grown, and it’s from the Moth. Grown is all about the experience of growing up. There's... by Borrowed
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Jay-Z at the Library: Over 14,000 patrons have signed up for their first library card since Jay-Z's exhibit came to Central Library in mid-July. We talk to Brooklynites traveling around the borough to collect all 13 Jay-Z library cards, and ask what The Book of HOV means... by Borrowed
9 min listen
Pathways to Leadership: Kesha Powell and Amen Emile have been working at BPL for over 20 years in various roles, from public safety to circulation manager. Thanks to BPL's Pathways to Leadership program—a scholarship and mentorship initiative designed to diversify the... by Borrowed
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Meet Our (Almost) Six-Year-Old Librarian: If you ask Hannah Jean what would be her greatest wish, she will say running Brooklyn Public Library. Last month, she got to do just that. Read the transcript and check out our book list: by Borrowed
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The Teens are Offline: Meet the Luddite Club, a group of library-loving, flip-phone-toting teenagers in Brooklyn who come together every week out of a shared sense that social media and smart phones just aren't working for them. Read the transcript and check out... by Borrowed
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Seeking Asylum: Asylum seekers continue to arrive in New York City. We look at how one faith-based organization is responding to the continuing crisis in the hope that these personal narratives offer a window into the experience of migrants in... by Borrowed
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Buscando Asilo: Este episodio es sobre los solicitantes de asilo en la ciudad de Nueva York. Estamos compartiendo estas narrativas personales con la esperanza de que escucharlas devuelva la humanidad a esta crisis. Para leer el episodio en inglés y más... by Borrowed
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A Place of Refuge: Last year, New York City began to see an increase in the number of migrants seeking asylum. BPL is a small part of the city-wide response help those seeking refuge here. In this first part of our two-part episode on asylum seekers, we'll cover a few... by Borrowed
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What's Your Library Worth?: Did you know there are some public libraries that loan out snowshoes? And cement mixers? And Santa suits? This episode, we try to calculate what your public library is worth, and ask how you can give back to support public libraries. Read the... by Borrowed
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Go, Robots, Go!: With tablets, Legos, and coding, these fourteen teams from library branches across Brooklyn met at Central Library to compete in the final championship of Brooklyn Robotics League — resulting in what is surely one of our loudest stories... by Borrowed
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Happily Ever After: We love love at the library, so for Valentine's Day this year, we're devoting the episode Romance Novels! We'll learn how Romance covers hint at what's between them, and chat with writer Nichole Perkins about how the genre is diversifying.... by Borrowed
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La Hora Mágica: La Hora Mágica has been the heart of Sunset Park’s storytime programming for a decade now, highlighting songs and stories in Spanish and English for speakers of all different languages. Read the transcript here: by Borrowed
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Dyker Singers, Dyker Lights: Dyker Heights, Brooklyn is a destination this time of year, with houses decked out in lights drawing visitors from all around the world. And inside Dyker Library, a strong community gathers to sing, play mahjong, do yoga, and so much more. You... by Borrowed
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Happy Birthday, BPL!

Happy Birthday, BPL!

Description

Titles in the series (91)

More Episodes from Borrowed