CU Boulder Students Support Libraries Against Book Bans

The team called Ralphie’s Readers is one of two CU Boulder teams competing in the Bateman Competition that challenges students to create a public relations campaign for a real-world client. This year’s client is EveryLibrary, a non-profit organization whose goal is to secure sustainable funding for libraries and protect them against book bans, closures, and illicit political interference.

On February 16, Ralphie’s Readers hosted a read-aloud event at the Boulder Public Library for young readers and their families to engage and have fun with literature. The event featured a curated list of books that have been banned or faced censorship to emphasize the educational, critical thinking, and creative opportunities reading provides. Books are placed on the ban list or are forcibly censored to conceal critical and helpful information from people, especially young people, to discourage their questioning and critiques of the world around them. Those who advocate for book bans don’t want to normalize things like being a part of the LGBTQ+ community or bring attention to issues like sexual assault or racism.

Ralphie’s Readers has also taken to social media to encourage support for EveryLibrary. On Substack, the team made a post about how book bans are not just a red state problem, but a problem for everyone. They highlighted that in December of 2024, Colorado’s own Elizabeth School District was sued by ACLU of Colorado for banning and removing 19 books from school libraries. Some of the books removed were The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas, Beloved and The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison, #Pride: Championing LGBTQ Rights by Rebecca Felix, and You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson. All of these were banned because of “inappropriate content, mostly sexual in nature.”

Since their founding in 2012, EveryLibrary has provided pro-bono (free) support to over 140 library communities and secured more that $2.9 billion in stable annual tax revenue. They were able to help nine libraries in 2022 including two Colorado libraries, and they helped 20 libraries from 2023 to 2024. In a time where there are new attacks on essential knowledge every day, we must support the groups that are working hard to protect our stories.

The post on Substack from Ralphie’s Readers reminds us that fighting against censorship is as easy as voting for people who “embrace diverse voices in reading” in local and school board elections. If we stay informed and stick with the communities that care about the state of education, “ee can ensure that every voice is heard, every story is told, and every book remains on the shelf,” Ralphie’s Readers says.