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Then, without checking out these titles, these patrons leave. They may mark up the books they take. They won’t return the materials. And, according to Doreen Horstin, manager of San Francisco Public Library’s (SFPL) Park branch, this is just fine.
These patrons are participants in Read to Recovery, an SFPL program that has been providing free addiction recovery materials since spring 2023. The initiative is a way to quietly get thousands of books into the hands of people who need them, ensuring that barriers such as a lack of a library card or hold times don’t get in the way.
San Francisco isn’t the only city with a program like this. Other public libraries across the US are designating shelves with titles that address mental illness, addiction recovery, and other stigmatized topics—materials they intend to give away or don’t expect to see returned.
Brianne Anderson, youth services manager at Ames (Iowa) Public Library (APL), says she views these programs as an extension of libraries’ fundamental mission: making information accessible.
“Nobody has to ask questions, you don’t have to identify yourself in any way, and you can still get the information that you need,” Anderson says. “That’s how you build a welcome space.”
Stocking the shelves
At SFPL, staff members are trained to use Narcan to reverse opioid overdoses. But Horstin says, with the city in the throes of an addiction crisis, this isn’t enough.
“We can’t just administer Narcan and not do anything else,” Horstin says. “We’re all about books. That’s what we do. It’s still the number one service that we offer.”
In 2022, she started expanding the system’s collection of addiction recovery materials. Then she connected with Matt Dorsey, now a member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors. He pointed out that some people might want to keep and annotate their books, especially when it comes to workbooks like those published by AA. Together, they successfully advocated that the city board make these items free for all.
Recovery resources are deeply needed, and not just in San Francisco. According to the 2023 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 16.7% of Americans ages 12 and older struggled with a substance-use disorder within the previous year. Additionally, according to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than one in five US adults were living with a mental illness in 2021.
These levels of demand have spurred SFPL to invest heavily in Read to Recovery. Currently, four locations have these no-checkout shelves, and library staffers are working to roll out the initiative to all 28 locations and its Jail and Reentry Services program. Between January 2023 and July 2024, the system used almost $66,000 from its Library Preservation Fund to purchase materials covering a variety of approaches to addiction recovery.
While not all libraries have this type of municipal funding at their disposal, some smaller systems are figuring out ways to make these books available—and some have been doing so for years.
We can’t just administer Narcan and not do anything else.—Doreen Horstin, manager of San Francisco Public Library’s Park branch
In Ames, for example, library staffers decided almost two decades ago that they wanted to provide anonymous access to materials on topics like mental illness, puberty, and coming out. In 2006, APL launched its FYI Shelves, which primarily offer content for teens but are open to everyone.
Today, APL’s FYI Shelves are accompanied by signage declaring no checkout required and hold about 25–30 books, plus resources on groups like Planned Parenthood, food insecurity organizations, and a local domestic abuse shelter. Patrons take approximately 20 books each year, costing the library only about $100. Most aren’t returned, but on the occasions that the books are placed in the return bin or directly back on the shelves, Anderson says she can tell they’ve been well-used.
Over the years, the program has elicited complaints but only one formal challenge, Anderson says. Not long after the shelves launched, parents pushed back on Sex, Etc., a sex education magazine written by and for teens. But the item withstood reconsideration, remaining on the shelves until it went out of publication.
APL’s program has inspired other libraries, too. At Brooks Free Library (BFL) in Harwich, Massachusetts, one librarian saw a social media post about the FYI Shelves and shared it at a staff meeting. BFL Deputy Director Jennifer Pickett loved the idea.
Pickett knows books don’t take the place of resources like in-house social workers, but for a small system like hers, creating the Confidential Corner—which has about 33 titles, including The 30-Day Sobriety Solution—felt like a feasible step to take.
“It’s not that big of an ask,” Pickett says. “[Forming] a library book group is harder than this was, and people are so appreciative.”
Real results
For Horstin, success with Read to Recovery has so far mostly been anecdotal: Seeing books on addiction recovery get snapped up at a street fair. Hearing from family members who took books for their loved ones. Talking to a gentleman who’d been sober for years about the value of barrier-free materials.
Pickett, too, has seen positive feedback flood in after the Confidential Corner received some media attention.
“People would say, ‘Oh, I was afraid to go to my library to check something out because I didn’t want to be judged,’” she says. “There’s some serious need out there.”
Seeing books get taken helps communities quantify interest. At BFL, Pickett sees 60–90 books on topics ranging from alcohol addiction to divorce to gender identity leave the Confidential Corner each year; a few are normally returned. Meanwhile, SFPL’s Read to Recovery gave away 3,703 recovery-related books in the fiscal year that ended in June 2024.
Another sign of success: Other library systems are emulating the concept. Saratoga Springs (N.Y.) Public Library contacted Horstin, and in May 2024, it too launched a Read to Recovery program.
Anderson, Horstin, and Pickett agree that getting started doesn’t have to be complicated: Libraries can start a program just by adding more workbooks or setting aside a shelf. All say they hope other libraries follow their lead.
“It’s about helping people get the information they want,” Pickett says. “But it’s also about letting people know this is what we’re here for.”
