Borrowed

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 young girl “auctioned” at Plymouth Church in 1860 to the story of Crown Heights’s Weeksville as a site of resistance and power before the Civil War.   Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/free-brooklyn 

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 listen to stories of patrons experiencing homelessness, and ask how the library could be better when it comes to creating a sense of home for everyone.   Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/getting-home 

Libraries are truly amazing no matter where you go. This season on Borrowed, we’re going to celebrate that, and bring you stories that challenge your idea of the public library, and of Brooklyn, too. 

Immigration is a pressing topic in our political landscape right now, with concerns about ICE raids and immigration bans. In this episode, we listen to inspiring stories of recent asylees, the case for more bilingual librarians, and what the library means when we say “American.” Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/new-americans 

There’s something about Brooklyn that makes you want to write. “Everything is alive here,” says poet Mahogany L. Browne. And thank goodness we have writers to capture that. In this episode, we share an interview with Mahogany Browne and Brooklyn poet laureate Tina Chang, plus a story about the classic novel A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.  Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/writer-grows-brooklyn 

Kairi Hollon tried to go to the library when he was a teenager in Brooklyn in the 1980s, but he kept getting kicked out. Years later, he came back to the library and started to create spaces just for teens. We’ll listen in on a Dungeons & Dragons game in Mill Basin, a teen party at Central, and learn how video games are changing the library. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/teens-take-over 

From “the most expensive pigeon roost in the world” to one of the world’s most unique libraries, Brooklyn’s Central Library has many stories to tell. We’ll dive into the history of Central Library, and bring you stories of small businesses, fashion shows, and one patron’s path from homelessness to determined author. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/work-progress 

It turns out that libraries weren’t always so friendly toward children. That started to change around the turn of the 20th century, thanks to a librarian who is pretty much unknown today. We're taking a field trip to a library truck in the Flatlands, a story time at Central, and to Brownsville in 1914... Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/for-kids-sake 

Sometimes, in the wake of natural disasters, the library becomes an information center, a shelter and a community space. We travel to Coney Island, Red Hook, and Puerto Rico to learn about how neighbors come together after a storm, and how libraries can help. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/weathering-storm 

Online search engines are basically universal, so questions at the library reference desk are changing. We follow the story of one question, “I want to know how I can be happy,” and learn about how libraries are keeping up with the needs of the community. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/across-reference-desk 

“A truly great library contains something in it to offend everyone.” So goes the quote from librarian Jo Godwin. From Dr. Seuss to kosher books to Drag Queen Story Hour, this episode will explore what it means to challenge censorship, and what happens when patrons disagree with content in the library. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/something-offend-everyone 

Preserving history is about more than battling mold and disintegration. We took a trip to Greenpoint, Brooklyn to learn about how an environmental disaster propelled residents into action, and how the public library is archiving the neighborhood’s past and present. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/oil-spills-and-moldy 

Books on conveyor belts, book vacuums and books in the mail. This episode of “Borrowed” will take you behind the scenes to see how books travel around the boroughs, from Long Island City to Bensonhurst to your bedside table. Read the transcript and check out our book list here: https://www.bklynlibrary.org/podcasts/books-are-not-dead 

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. Brought to you by Brooklyn Public Library. Our first episode launches March 12.