city leaders in Hoboken are responding to the rise in book bans across New Jersey and nationally becoming the state's first ever book Sanctuary City thanks to unanimous vote last night from the Hoboken Council making it a place where no book can be banned and endangered books are protected senior correspondent Joanna gagas reports we don't segregate these books we protect them but we integrate them with the rest of our collection again it's just information we want people to have access to this these stories but on display right now in the Hoboken Public Library you'll find a section dedicated to banned books titles that have been challenged across all parts of the country some people might be surprised to learn that Harry Potter is one of the top most challenged books you know in the since it came out this is the number two most challenged book right now all boys an autobiography about someone dealing and coming out with their identity in multiple ways of course we have books that have been challenged for years Catcher in the Rye Fahrenheit 451 George Orwell's 1984 Alice Walker's Color Purple earlier this summer Hoboken held a banned bookathon where they read several of these banned books aloud and in August the Hoboken Library board voted to dedicate itself as a book Sanctuary meaning no books could be banned or removed from their shelves and now a new ordinance passed by last night by Hoboken city council ensures the entire city of Hoboken will follow suit last night the Hoboken city council voted unanimously in support of designating Hoboken to be a book Sanctuary City to ensure that this will apply to the entire city so places like our little free libraries and our networks of um on our Parks you know that will be the same we want to embrace diverse books we want to tell the stories of people who are otherwise marginalized and make sure that we celebrate that in all places in Hoboken are you concerned that in any way this opens up the door to the proliferation of other kinds of books that might include white nationalist messaging or anti-semitic propaganda or anti-any other culture if you start Banning one thing you know that comes at the expense of another and I think it's a slippery slope to go down that road this is about access you know once you start that slippery slope of censorship and what people think is objectionable that's when you really start to undermine the tenets of democracy which is free and open access to information we believe life that everyone should have access to the information they want and they should make the choice of what they want to read or not read this move in Hoboken comes as New Jersey's legislature is considering a bill proposed by Senator Andrew zwicker that would prohibit any library or School District from Banning any books failure to comply would mean a loss of State funding School the bill a response to the growing movement to remove lgbtq books from school and Public Library shelves in New Jersey LED primarily by the National Group moms for Liberty who argue that access to these books poses harm to their children book bands have been around forever they've come and gone so so this is nothing new this is the latest iteration of the forces of intolerance of exclusion of other Rising the marginalized people in our community so we've seen this before you don't have to thing that you'll like what you're reading but I think what's what's important and what's so fundamental and so special about America is that you have that right it's guaranteed in the Constitution Jenny pooh encourages anyone who's concerned about a book to read it read all the banned books and perhaps let it spark a conversation with someone in your community in Hoboken I'm Joanna Gagis NJ Spotlight News