{"id":407386,"date":"2026-09-22T17:32:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:32:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/407386\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T17:32:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T17:32:13","slug":"unf-library-brings-readers-access-despite-book-bans","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/407386\/","title":{"rendered":"UNF Library brings readers access despite book bans"},"content":{"rendered":"

Long before \u201cbanned books\u201d became a nationally debated topic<\/a>, the librarians at the UNF Carpenter Library were already considering what was on student \u201cto be read\u201d lists and what they could actually locate within their shelves.<\/p>\n

The American Library Association<\/a> tracked 4,235 unique challenged book titles in 2025, the second-highest number on record, and 92% of those challenges came from organized groups and officials rather than individual parents.<\/p>\n

Florida was the No. 1 state for school book bans <\/a>for the third straight year in 2024-2025, with 2,304 instances recorded, according to PEN America.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith interlibrary loan, we can get books from anywhere,\u201d said Maria Atilano, UNF\u2019s student success and engagement librarian. If the library doesn\u2019t own a title, students can request it from another library in the country and pick it up at the front desk for free.<\/p>\n

The graphic novel collection<\/p>\n

Atilano has worked at the Thomas G. Carpenter Library for almost 20 years, starting straight out of her undergraduate degree in North Carolina. She moved into her current faculty role in 2013, where she now oversees programming, displays and promotions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a big nerd and I like to read,\u201d Atilano said. \u201cI\u2019ve got two English degrees, and it\u2019s probably my number one hobby.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atilano has helped launch popular student programs at the library, including the UNF Campus Canines, the Blind Date with a Book program, and the graphic novel collection on the library\u2019s third floor.<\/p>\n

When she first arrived, the library cataloged graphic novels by subject alongside everything else, so \u201cMaus,\u201d Art Spiegelman\u2019s graphic memoir about the Holocaust, sat among the history books, while Alison Bechdel\u2019s \u201cFun Home\u201d<\/a> was filed with American literature.<\/p>\n

In 2015, Atilano and her colleagues applied for a grant to fund the possible graphic novel collection. They didn\u2019t win it, but the proposal convinced library administration to fund it anyway with a \u201cfew thousand dollars\u201d to start, according to Atilano.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Atilano worked with a cataloger to reclassify the books the library already owned and turned to other faculty for recommendations, building a list from scratch.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started our collection with a couple hundred volumes and then mostly all new stuff. And now we\u2019ve got almost 800 volumes. And it\u2019s probably our highest circulating collection that we\u2019ve got in the library,\u201d Atilano said.<\/p>\n

The collection helps support two of the library\u2019s other signature events: Blind Date with a Book, a two-week February program where more than 200 wrapped books go out on description alone, and Eisner Week each March, named for Will Eisner, the cartoonist credited with coining the term \u201csequential art,\u201d<\/a> for graphic novels and comics.<\/p>\n

Atilano keeps a running list on Goodreads and only buys a book for herself if she\u2019s read and loved it, a habit that\u2019s sent her digging through the back rooms of independent bookstores on vacation.<\/p>\n

\u201cUsually I check out a blind date and it sits there for months,\u201d Atilano said. \u201cThis one, I was like, I\u2019m going to get to it. And I really enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atilano still handles most of the ordering herself, and leans on students to cover her blind spots.<\/p>\n

\u201cManga is a big blind spot for me. I don\u2019t read manga,\u201d Atilano said. \u201cStudents are like, \u2018I really love manga, tell me what you want me to buy.\u2019 So I\u2019ll add it to our list.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atilano said that while many graphic novels are often only viewed as superhero comics, many carry heavy messaging.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s still kind of in this little fringe area, and people will be like, \u2018Oh, that\u2019s like Marvel and DC and comic books, that\u2019s not real,’\u201d Atilano said. \u201cBut if you read specific titles, there\u2019s some really heavy hitting, like even comic books.\u201d<\/p>\n

Among them is the novel \u201cMaus,\u201d Art Spiegelman\u2019s Pulitzer Prize-winning graphic memoir about the Holocaust. A Tennessee school board voted in 2022 to remove<\/a> it from an eight grade curriculum over its language and imagery of the Holocaust and internment camps.<\/p>\n

Several graphic novels Atilano brought into the collection have landed on the ALA\u2019s most challenged lists. <\/p>\n

Banned books in the library?<\/p>\n

Comics and graphic novels have shown up disproportionately on national ban lists<\/a> in recent years, in part because of the social and political commentary many carry, from allegories about war and genocide to stories about race, gender and sexuality.<\/p>\n

In 2017, three of the ALA\u2019s top 10 most challenged books were graphic novels, the first time that had happened. \u201cGender Queer\u201d by Maia Kobabe later topped the list for three straight years.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it fell down to like number two or three for this year,\u201d Atilano said.<\/p>\n

Atilano said \u201cGender Queer\u201d was challenged in schools before it was even published. Kobabe\u2019s graphic novel has been said to be the most banned book <\/a>in the last three years.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey just read the blurb and they went, \u2018Nope,\u2019 and nobody even read it,\u201d Atilano said. \u201cWhen you read it, you\u2019re like, it\u2019s spicy, but for certain age groups.\u201d<\/p>\n

The library carries \u201cGender Queer,\u201d plus a second copy purchased after the first couldn\u2019t keep up with demand.<\/p>\n

\u201cLibraries really are always about the free access to information,\u201d Atilano said. \u201cWe\u2019re never going to judge or say you can\u2019t check something out. There are no barriers to it unless somebody already has it checked out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Atilano says that students will at times see a book is unavailable and jump to the conclusion the title was pulled or banned.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have it; it\u2019s checked out. If they can\u2019t see it, they just think we don\u2019t have it.\u201d She recommends checking the library\u2019s OneSearch catalog<\/a> first, and asking staff rather than assuming the worst if a listed book isn\u2019t on the shelf.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause we\u2019re an academic library, we\u2019re not taking things off the shelf because of the subject matter,\u201d Atilano said. \u201cWe aren\u2019t censoring our materials.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the shelf to the servers
\n\"\"Keri Weird Weiland
The UNF Library currently carries \u201cGender Queer\u201d by Maia Kobabe, a graphic novel that was one of the most challenged banned books for three straight years.<\/p>\n

Atilano said the collection has shifted online dramatically since she started.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe still have a lot of books, but most of what we have access to is online,\u201d Atilano said. \u201cWe still get students who come in going, \u2018Why doesn\u2019t the library have books?’\u201d<\/p>\n

UNF\u2019s library maintains close to 300 databases, including streaming services like Kanopy, Films on Demand and Swank, giving students free access to documentaries and films they\u2019d otherwise need a subscription for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

UNF students can access these streaming perks for free by authenticating through the Thomas G. Carpenter Library website<\/a> using their standard UNF login credentials.<\/p>\n

When students aren\u2019t able to find a copy of their desired book, they can complete an interlibrary loan, searching library catalogs, pulling almost any book, film or album from another library in the country, for free.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Atilano used it herself, once waiting on a book that arrived \u201call the way from California\u201d because it existed in only a handful of libraries nationwide. It\u2019s also how the library handles multivolume series, like manga series that are too expansive to fully stock in-house.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe can\u2019t have all 131 volumes,\u201d Atilano said. \u201cSo we buy the first maybe six to eight, and if you like it, you can put in a request for the rest.\u201d<\/p>\n

Increased access to books, increase of diversified stories<\/p>\n

Students can also sign up for a Jacksonville Public Library card, which they can register on Libby<\/a>. This mobile, online library app gives students free e-books and audiobooks and lets them register multiple cards, with some organizations creating catalogs for underrepresented groups.<\/p>\n

Atilano also mentioned the Queer Liberation Library<\/a>, a nonprofit that offers free digital library cards with diverse LGBTQ+ representation, according to Atilano, and has more queer novels and representation available than the common library catalog.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a matter of demand,\u201d Atilano said of gaps in the bigger systems. \u201cThe Queer Liberation Library started because of that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Popular titles can take months to arrive because demand for books in the collections is stretched nationwide, but Atilano said that\u2019s a fair tradeoff for free access.<\/p>\n

Nicole Beam, a sophomore chemistry student at the university, said access to a wide, diverse range of novels in the library matters more than people realize.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Before college, Beam grew up in a liberal county with a well-stocked public library and read widely, from Toni Morrison\u2019s \u201cBeloved\u201d to queer fiction comics like Alice Oseman\u2019s \u201cHeartstopper.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI was very lucky to, before college, live in a county which was very liberal so I could get most of what I wanted to read from my library,\u201d Beam said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beam now buys most of her reading material for herself, instead of relying on the library.<\/p>\n

Beam says losing easy access to certain books can cut off more than a good read; it can also limit representation for students searching for themselves in characters.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it disheartening that a lot of the places I can find the most representation of myself are likely not very accessible to students because of book bans,\u201d Beam said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I didn\u2019t have as much internet access, I probably would\u2019ve heard about being aro-ace<\/a> for the first time through \u2018Loveless\u2019 by Alice Oseman, and there isn\u2019t much rep of that out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Atilano, the library\u2019s main goal is for its students to understand the countless resources and titles available to them, via the databases, interlibrary loans, or even the librarians themselves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe main thing is that we\u2019re here,\u201d Atilano said. \u201cWe\u2019re here until 2 a.m. most nights. Come to the library, contact us if you have needs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd if you have book suggestions, call me,\u201d Atilano said with a smile.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

For more information or news tips, or if you see an error in this story or have any compliments or concerns, contact [email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Long before \u201cbanned books\u201d became a nationally debated topic, the librarians at the UNF Carpenter Library were already…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":407387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[116,118,117],"class_list":["post-407386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville","tag-jacksonville-headlines","tag-jacksonville-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=407386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/407386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/407387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=407386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=407386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=407386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}