Oklahoma teacher suspended after promoting Brooklyn Public Library's anti-censorship campaign

A Brooklyn Public Library initiative to combat state book bans has landed an Oklahoma teacher in trouble, after a parent there complained her promotion of the resource was itself a violation of state law.

Summer Boismier, a high school English teacher in Norman, Okla., told Gothamist she was placed on leave after providing her students with information about Books UnBanned, a program that allows anyone between the ages of 13 to 21 to access the Brooklyn Public Library’s digital collection at no charge.

The library system launched the resource in April as a response to a surge in book bans spearheaded by conservative activists and lawmakers throughout the U.S. It has since received more than 4,000 applications from teenagers in every state, according to Fritzi Bodenheimer, a spokesperson for Brooklyn Public Library.