During the 2024-2025 school year, there were 6,870 documented instances of book bans across the country — 20 of these bans happened in Colorado, according to PEN America.
Those statistics don’t sit well with Anythink Libraries’ Executive Director Mark Fink.
“Across the country, we’re seeing more and more challenges to material in public libraries,” Fink said. “I think it’s important for us to share that Anythink has information that represents a variety of perspectives, different points of view, different experiences, and we also connect people with factual, verifiable information.”
Last year, public libraries across the state reported 45 challenges to their books, DVDs and other materials, according to data from the Colorado Department of Education’s Library Research Service. In response and to increase access to information for all Coloradans, Anythink launched the Freedom to Read Collection in 2025, as the first collection of its kind from a Colorado public library, featuring banned, challenged and restricted titles.
Unlike traditional digital library collections, access is not limited to residents of Anythink’s service area, and no library card is required.
“As a public library, I think it was important for me that we expand access to content that people might not be able to access at school libraries or other libraries in the state,” Fink said. “Our strategy to provide more content and more information rather than to restrict it.”
The Freedom to Read Collection is available for free via the Palace Project app for iOS and Android. All Colorado residents age 13 and older can use it. Upon the downloading the app, readers create an account using their name and email address, with location verification used to confirm eligibility.
After downloading the app and creating an account, simply search for Anythink’s Freedom to Read Collection and select a title to borrow. The collection includes ebooks and audiobooks for adult, teen and youth audiences, including frequently challenged works, books representing diverse voices and lived experiences, and resources that promote civic understanding, such as the U.S. Constitution.
Popular ebook and audiobooks featured include “1984,” “The Perks of Being a Wallflower,” “Throne of Glass” and nonfiction works like “Bad Feminist” and “The New Jim Crow.”
The collection was designed to reduce as barriers to access information for Coloradoans.
“We’re the only library in Colorado that has this type of collection, so we want people to use it,” Fink said.