The Uncensored Library inside Minecraft

Imagine a library. That’s easy. Now, imagine a library inside a video game. Still not that difficult. Now, imagine that the library is filled with books and articles that are banned in different countries. Imagine being able to access brilliant writings that often disappear under oppressive governments or due to differences in ideology. That’s exactly what the Uncensored Library does!

Standing for our rights

When a country’s ruling system becomes authoritarian in nature, even if not explicitly declared as such, one of the important sectors that takes a hit is journalism. Newspapers, magazines, websites and at times, even blogs get banned or controlled by such governments. Youngsters, in such situations, grow up in systems where opinions, views and information available are heavily censored, misinterpreted or distorted.

Reporters Without Borders sought a way to overcome this challenge. In any country where the press is under stress and information is controlled, one thing they found is accessible to everyone were video games. In this case, Minecraft. This is where the idea of the Uncensored Library began.

Minecraft, a block-based sandbox video game developed by Mojang Studios, is a video game where players explore, mine resources, craft tools, and build structures in a procedurally generated 3D world. The game does not have a fixed storyline or single required goal, making it similar to digital Lego.

A library for all, by all

After 24 builders and experts from 16 countries worked for 250 hours, the Uncensored Library was finally released on March 12, 2020, on World Day Against Cyber Censorship. The project was led by the Minecraft design studio BlockWorks in collaboration with Reporters Without Borders and used over 12.5 million Minecraft blocks to be created.

With articles from multiple countries like Egypt, Belarus, Brazil, Eritrea, Iran, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam and the United States, the library currently consists of around 300 works and is growing. These articles, which are banned in several countries, are now available again within Minecraft, hidden from government surveillance technology. The books can be read by everyone on the server, but their content cannot be changed.

How to access?

The Uncensored library can be accessed through the game Minecraft: Java Edition. For this, you first need to install Minecraft: Java  Edition and have a valid Minecraft account.

Then to join the library, you first need to open the Minecraft launcher and select Minecraft: Java  Edition. Please ensure that you are using Minecraft’s latest release (1.21.11) and press Play.

From the game’s main menu, select Multiplayer, and from the multiplayer menu, select Direct  Connect. Finally, enter visit.uncensoredlibrary.com into the server address box and press Join Server. You will now be connected to the library!

In an age where press freedom is falling even in some of the biggest democracies in the world, such initiatives ensure that the freedom of speech and expression is upheld strongly and proudly by its citizens.