SAINT PETERSBURG, Fla. — In a tiny little library on 9th Ave N, Mary Harbeitner is making a big statement.
"I took it upon myself to actually look for banned books," said Harbeitner.
Harbeitner is stocking her little library with books like "The Bluest Eye" by Toni Morrison, which was recently banned from Pinellas County Schools.
A flier on the library highlights the fact it carries banned books and does not believe in censorship.
"Books provide knowledge and a way for people to experience things that they don’t experience in everyday life through the eyes of somebody else," said Harbeitner.
RELATED: Banned book library opens in St. Pete following school book challenges
Harbeitner isn't on this mission alone.
"Books are a window that helps you see someone else's life," said Nicole St Leger, a St. Pete mother of four.
St Leger has a free library outside of her St. Pete home and is helping stock other free libraries in the community with banned books.
These latest issues have come up since the governor signed new guidelines into law updating the procedures for approving materials in schools.
Those guidelines include banning content deemed pornographic or inappropriate for the grade level.
A law that has caused a lot of confusion, leaving each school district responsible to decide which books are banned.
As for the Harbeitner, she’s taking requests for stocking her little library with banned books.
"Write it on this notepad, I have paper and a pen, and I will find the book for you," said Harbeitner.
