Fahrenheit 451 in Nashville: the special card from the public library with the words, "I read forbidden books", is very popular in the city of Tennessee.
Initially produced in a limited edition, the card has become so popular that the library has decided to make it a permanent option.
The new design was meant to be a provocation: the library had introduced it at the end of April, after months of national and local debate on books banned in public libraries and schools.
The campaign was launched just days after the Tennessee Assembly passed a law that gave a political nominating committee the authority to remove books from school libraries across the state.
"I would burn them," Republican MP Jerry Sexton said during the debate, evoking memories of "Fahrenheit 451", Ray Bradbury's dystopian novel about an America where reading is forbidden and books are burned at the stake.
The "I Read Banned Books" card was supposed to be part of a month-long campaign. Instead, thousands showed up to collect it, double the monthly enrollment average for the Nashville Public Library.
Among the recently banned books in Tennessee is Art Spiegelman's "Maus".
Often the target of censorship was also "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood, a copy of which - the Canadian writer announced last week - was produced in a special flame-resistant version with high symbolic value.
The single copy - which Sotheby's is currently auctioning with the proceeds destined for the American section of the Pen - was printed and bound with materials that cannot be burned including Cinefoil, the aluminum paper used in Hollywood to disguise lights and eliminating reflections: "Throughout the United States and around the world books are banned and even burned. For this we have created a special edition of this book that has been banned for decades. It will be a powerful symbol against all censorship, "said the Penguin publishing house, which publishes the writer's books.
The Pen is at the forefront of campaigns for freedom of reading.
Its most recent report documented 1,586 cases of books banned in the US alone in 86 school districts in 26 states.
Over 122 million Americans live in states that have passed laws or enacted executive orders that prohibit touching on hot topics in schools including racism, gender discrimination and sexual orientation.
