BROWARD COUNTY, FL - Broward County Library (BCL) now offers free menstrual supplies to address a customer's personal needs with dignity and discretion at 36 branch locations with its "Beyond the Bookshelves: BCL Cares" initiative.

To help bridge the economic divide among women in Broward County who are experiencing financial hardship, libraries are now distribution points for free hygiene kits which will be given upon request, no questions asked, without limits or qualifying requirements. Individuals in need will now have access to sanitary products in a safe and confidential manner at their local library.

"Period poverty," or the lack of access to menstrual hygiene products, disproportionately affects individuals who are unable to afford these necessities. An objective of this new library service is to eliminate the indignity and shame of "menstrual stigma," arising from  being unable to obtain menstrual products and/or participate in day-to-day activities for lack of them. 

Studies have shown:   

• 86% of women start their period in a public place without the supplies they need. ("The Murphy's Law of Menstruation" Free the Tampon Foundation)

• 44% of teens report stress and embarrassment due to a lack of access to period products. (The Widespread impact of period poverty on US Students. Commissioned by Thinx & PERIOD. October 2023)

• 38% Over one-third of low-wage working women report missing work, school or similar events due to lack of access to period supplies. (U by Kotex Period Poverty Awareness Week - Survey Result, 2021)

To obtain a hygiene kit, cards requesting supplies, available in the Ladies Room, can be handed silently to library staff. Alternatively, someone can ask staff for a "package for Valerie" and will be given a kit without further discussion.  

For additional information please contact Youth Services Coordinator Kimberly White at KIWHITE@broward.org or 954-357-7470. Support for this program is generously provided by a grant from The Beauty Initiative, a non-profit organization dedicated to affirming that hygiene is not a luxury but a fundamental human right.

About Broward County Libraries
Broward County Libraries Division, named 2020 and 2015 Library of the Year by the Florida Library Association, was founded in 1974 and is one of the largest and busiest library systems in Florida. Broward County Libraries Division's 37 locations provide convenient access to a full range of innovative and cost-effective services that satisfy the changing needs of the people of Broward County for information, education and recreation. Visit our website, Broward.org/Library, or follow Libraries on Facebook and X.