Kansas City, San Francisco Libraries Tackle Censorship with Super Bowl Bet

The Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) and San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) last Thursday announced that they would team up on a Tackle Censorship campaign with a friendly wager on the game. As a result of Kansas City's 25–22 win last night, a library representative from SFPL will wear Kansas City gear and post a recording of themselves reading from a banned book on the library’s social media channels.

Screenshot of the tacklecensorship.org website with the wordsWith a three-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Mahomes to Mecole Hardman in overtime, the Kansas City Chiefs won the Super Bowl on Sunday. The 25–22 victory over the San Francisco 49ers was Kansas City’s third Super Bowl win in the past five NFL seasons, cementing their status as a modern-day dynasty.

The Kansas City Public Library (KCPL) and San Francisco Public Library (SFPL) last Thursday announced that they would team up on a Tackle Censorship campaign with a friendly wager on the game. As a result of last night’s loss, a library representative from SFPL will wear Kansas City gear and post a recording of themselves reading from a banned book on the library’s social media channels.

“In San Francisco, only our passionate commitment to intellectual freedom and combating censorship surpasses our love for the 49ers!” City Librarian Michael Lambert said in an announcement. “San Francisco Public Library’s mission is to connect our diverse communities, to learning, conversations, and ideas, while serving as an affirming space for all. This collaboration with Kansas City Public Library allows us to celebrate our collective dedication to ensuring that every member of our community can read freely.”

The Tackle Censorship campaign was launched last year with a similar wager between KCPL and the Free Library of Philadelphia. The campaign’s patron-facing website, tacklecensorship.org, features the American Library Association’s (ALA) Freedom to Read statement and links to help Kansas City and San Francisco residents get a library card (or help people who are not residents of those cities find their own local libraries). It also highlights current information about book challenges and bans compiled by ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom, legislation of concern as reported by EveryLibrary, PEN America’s Index of School Book Bans, and information about the Unite Against Book Bans initiative.

According to Unite Against Book Bans, 71 percent of voters are against removing books from public libraries. However, ALA recorded almost 1,300 attempts to ban books in 2022—the highest number in more than 20 years—with public libraries accounting for 48 percent of challenges.

“Book banning remains as serious a concern as it was last year,” Carrie Coogan, deputy director for public affairs and community engagement at KCPL, said in an announcement. “We are excited to come together with the San Francisco Public Library to highlight this critical issue, even if we hope they are on the losing side of our bet. And with a coach [Andy Reid] whose last name shows the importance of Reid-ing, how could we lose?”

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Matt Enis

menis@mediasourceinc.com

@MatthewEnis

Matt Enis (matthewenis.com) is Senior Editor, Technology for Library Journal.

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