By Jennie Pu
Last year, Hoboken Public Library became the first book sanctuary in New Jersey. Shortly after, the entire City of Hoboken joined us, becoming a book sanctuary city. Since then, 15 other New Jersey public libraries and three New Jersey municipalities have become book sanctuaries, making New Jersey home to more book sanctuary libraries than any other state.
National Library Week is April 7-13 and April 8 is Right to Read Day. This is a great time to celebrate libraries, the freedom to read, and book sanctuaries. So, what is a book sanctuary and why do we need them? It is a place that affirms and protects the right to read. Censors targeted 4,240 unique book titles last year, a 92% increase over the previous year and the most ever documented by the American Library Association.
The censors also targeted us. In June of 2023, we hosted a community-wide banned book read-a-thon. Readers gathered in Church Square Park, which the library faces, taking turns at a microphone, reading excerpts of banned books. Leading up to the event, we faced an onslaught of online attacks.
Those attacks only strengthened our resolve. Our board decided in August 2023 to become a book sanctuary as a statement of principles: we are firmly on the side of the free exchange of ideas. We actively defend endangered stories. As a book sanctuary library, we proudly collect and share censored books. We continue to hold events and readings centered on banned books. Now, libraries across the state have done the same — and our numbers are only increasing.
The freedom to read is a fundamental American right, the First Amendment put into practice. In its unanimous decision to become a book sanctuary, our board wanted to make it crystal clear that we trust our patrons and their families to read what they please, whether that’s The Federalist Papers or “And Tango Makes Three,” which we proudly carry.
We’re not stopping. Recently, the Paris-Bourbon County Library in Kentucky turned to us for help as it faced more than 100 challenges to the books on its shelves. As a show of support and a promise to serve as an ongoing resource, we have joined them as a sister library.
We are advocating now for legislation in the State of New Jersey, the Freedom to Read Act, which will entrust librarians to ensure their library collections reflect the communities they serve.
The American public is with us, overwhelmingly opposing book bans and censorship. The polling is consistent and unequivocal. In New Jersey, a new Rutgers-Eagleton Poll found the majority of people in the state believe book bans are driven by politicians and not by parents.
If you believe you and your neighbors deserve the freedom to pick your own books, I urge you to take these steps:
1. Call or write to your state legislator to support the Freedom to Read Act, S2421.
2. Read a banned book. Talk about it with your friends, family, and neighbors.
3. Create your own book sanctuary in your home or office. This can be as small as a single bookshelf where you curate your favorite banned books. Make a book sanctuary for your kids. Show your children that you as their parent should be the arbiter of what they read. 4. Want to learn more about book sanctuaries? Go to our book sanctuary page.
This month and year-round, we encourage everyone to take action to support their Right to Read, whether at your local library, or by collecting a stack of banned books wherever you spend time – whether it’s your kitchen, your laundry room or a local coffee shop. Please join our fight in protecting the Freedom to Read.
Jennie Pu is director of the Hoboken Public Library. Under Pu’s leadership, Hoboken Public Library has emerged as a leader in the right to read. Pu serves on state, regional, and national boards including the New Jersey Library Association and Urban Libraries Council. In 2024 she was appointed to the American Library Association’s Policy Corps, United Against Book Bans cadre.
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