Jim Obergefell–the name you know from the SCOTUS case on LGBTQ+ marriage–has penned a hell of an editorial about the political battle over LGBTQ+ books in Ohio libraries. www.cleveland.com/opinion/2026...

The horrific Alabama bill that would allow cities and counties to fire library board members has *bipartisan support* in the Senate. This is really bad news. alabamareflector.com/2026/01/28/a...

Florida wants to do what the states in the QT'd have done and eliminate state property taxes. This would decimate local government services, including public libraries. That's by design. www.tallahassee.com/story/news/l...

Freedom Truck programming isn’t history. It’s propaganda. One version of America, one set of “values,” using a federal agency meant to serve everyone. Libraries teach HOW to think. They want to tell you WHAT to think. bookriot.com/imls-freedom...

Arkansas prisons will be implementing the cruelest and strictest total ban on books, magazines, and newspapers being mailed to those on the inside nationwide. The decision came using an excuse that continues to be unfounded. This is important. It will spread. bookriot.com/arkansas-pri...

Reupping this from last night. If you're a library advocate or worker, you should be pissed. You should also be pissed if you're a taxpayer. MILLIONS of dollars have been stolen from you and from public libraries and museums to develop these propaganda trucks. The administration brags on social.

Even more bad library bills being proposed in state legislatures. Don't just read and understand what's at stake here–take action to help stop their progress. Attempts to suppress LGBTQ+ books in libraries? They're not happening at the local level, folks. buttondown.com/wellsourced/...

Happy to share that a proposal I submitted,"Unlocking Access: ADA, Accessibility, and Assistive Technologies in Carceral Libraries," was accepted for both the 15th National Conference on Higher Education in Prison AND the @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social 2026 annual conference! #NCHEP15 #ALAAC26

From the New York Times: IMLS has reinstated all federal grants to libraries following a federal court ruling. More: www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/a... But we can't stop making noise for libraries. Tell Congress to #FundLibraries in FY26: app.oneclickpolitics.com/campaign-pag...

ALA is disappointed and concerned with the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to allow a lower court ruling in Little v. Llano County stand. This decision will significantly restrict the freedom to read in public libraries across Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi. Our statement: https://bit.ly/48HOSAl

The next episode of the @libraryjournal.bsky.social sponsored podcast, "Libraries Lead!," with @rdlankes.bsky.social, @mbeisenberg.bsky.social, and Beth Patin is out! A thoughtful discussion of the May 2025 court decision, labeling library collections as government speech, and the dangers of AI.

NEWS: The Institute of Museum & Library Services has restored ALL previously canceled federal grants to libraries, following a ruling by a federal judge in Rhode Island last month. This is a massive win for libraries & communities in every state & territory! Learn more: www.ala.org/news/2025/12...

NEWS: Libraries WIN in federal court! A judge in RI issued a permanent injunction stopping the Administration from dismantling the Institute of Museum & Library Services and nullifying all actions taken to do so. Read the ruling: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... (More to come from ALA)

The FCC's recent removal of #ERate discounts for library & school hotspot lending is a step backwards. ALA President Sam Helmick: "Having digital connection is going to allow us to not only thrive civically but economically, educationally, & socially." More: federalnewsnetwork.com/management/2...

Sounds like a distraction from the day’s news to me—but serious nonetheless www.nytimes.com/2025/11/18/u...

The People Want to Read: on the massive budget cuts proposed for Chicago Public Library. What's at stake and what you can do, whether or not you live in Chicago. buttondown.com/wellsourced/...

Another great episode of the @libraryjournal.bsky.social sponsored podcast, "Libraries Lead!," with @rdlankes.bsky.social, @mbeisenberg.bsky.social, and Beth Patin! Yes, libraries should and do support their communities, but the relationship must be symbiotic! Give this and other episodes a listen!

Waste knows no bounds. The amount of resources to be wasted (materials, time, money) to fulfill this ridiculous requirement, instead of using these resources to provide schools staff, and students with what they really need, is insane!

Three high schoolers founded a book club that reads some of the country's most frequently banned books after a state law removing books with sexual content was signed in 2023. Two years later, many of the books have been reshelved and parts of the law can't be enforced.

It's October 2025 and the federal government is shut down. So what's currently going on at the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS)? Well, a lot of money seems to be "missing," among other things. buttondown.com/wellsourced/...

How to be an educated, informed, and pro-library voter in the upcoming election cycle: bookriot.com/library-elec...

Congratulations to Terri and Iris!!! #BannedBooksWeek www.cbsnews.com/news/wyoming...

We were at the American Library Association Conference this summer talking with librarians about the importance of everyone having access to books that represent all kinds of different backgrounds and experiences. Thank you to every librarian working to defend our right to read.

This month's episode of the @libraryjournal.bsky.social sponsored Libraries Leads podcast with hosts Beth Patin, @rdlankes.bsky.social, and @mbeisenberg.bsky.social delves into "the pathways into librarianship and the broader information professions," highlighting ongoing debates in the info field.

Censorship is un-American. Way to go, Kim! @thelibrariansfilm.bsky.social www.cnn.com/2025/10/02/e...

$14 million dollars allocated to the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) was pushed through to the America 250 team to fund "Freedom Trucks"–propaganda telling a whitewashed version of history. What's happening at IMLS is beyond budgetary concerns. bookriot.com/imls-freedom...

Congratulations to @dylanflesch.bsky.social, @apricity.black and all of the 450 volunteers who made the new library board database possible. It happened because of your labor, time and commitment. And with no money, lol. Thank you all. data.librariesforthepeople.org

@georgetakei.bsky.social is the 2025 Honorary Chair of #BannedBooksWeek (Oct 5–11), joined by youth advocate Iris Mogul. Together they’ll spotlight the harms of censorship. https://www.ala.org/news/2025/09/legendary-actorauthoractivist-george-takei-named-honorary-chair-banned-books-week-2025

In our fight for intellectual freedom and the First Amendment rights of all, we cannot forget people experiencing incarceration. A phenomenal guest post from @bookstoprisoners.bsky.social on what's happening in prison censorship right now (& what you can do!): bookriot.com/books-to-pri...

The Moms for Liberty is now trying to take over our public libraries.

Maybe one of the most ridiculous new products from the anti-library, book ban crowd.

ALA Pres. Sam Helmick on the FCC Chair's actions to dismantle E-Rate hotspot programs: "All communities need high speed internet – even after the library closes. Withdrawing the opportunity for people to check out wifi hotspots from their library is a step backwards." arstechnica.com/tech-policy/...

Wyoming legislators have proposed one of the most extreme anti-library bills nationwide. It would effectively eliminate teen sections in public & school libraries under threat of $50,000 fines for "sexually explicit" materials. The bill ITSELF is sexually explicit. buttondown.com/wellsourced/...

Library privatization vultures LS&S took over King Williams's library (VA) after complaints over available materials in the public library. The library left their consortium and now, it doesn't even have books being studied in the local schools. ABSOLUTELY PREDICTABLE OUTCOME. archive.ph/h1alU

Feel free to reach out if anyone would like to collaborate on a program proposal!

Livingston Parish library director Michelle Parrish was fired w/out cause after years of harassment by anti-library bullies—enabled by weak leaders. This is an attack on our libraries + First Amendment. Help her fight back: gofund.me/590dbdca

Florida’s unelected Education Commissioner is officially banning books statewide by tweet and just disregarding the Equality Florida settlement that says limitations on classroom instruction do not apply to the voluntary nature of materials in the library.

We are hosting the UK premiere of the powerful documentary, ‘The Librarians’, directed by Kim A. Snyder. Come and join us @bodleian.ox.ac.uk for the screening, a panel discussion, and drinks! Co-organised with @rsliterature.bsky.social visit.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/event/sep25/...

Please vote! Let's get these library panels on the #SXSW schedule.

Public library budgets are being cut left, right, and center in 2025, and the situation is even worse and more urgent than last year. buttondown.com/wellsourced/...

Mike and Debbie Davis are creating new lives for themselves as filmmakers after spending 40 years in prison. (1/2) 🔗 inquirer.com/entertainmen...

Yo, the Senate's bill would keep the IMLS funded at the 2025 level.

New York is about to make all prison phone calls free. This move will make it easier for the state’s over 30,000 prisoners to stay connected to loved ones, saving them over $13 million a year. www.nytimes.com/2025/07/22/n...

A new report from @everylibrary.bsky.social breaks down 130+ bills targeting books and libraries this year. "All Boys Aren't Blue" author @iamgmjohnson.bsky.social returns to the #VelshiBannedBookClub on the ever-important fight for the freedom to read and how to support literature and education.

The #ALAAC25 session everyone’s been talking about is coming to C-SPAN! Tune in this Sunday, July 27 at 4:35 PM EDT to see Carla Hayden, former Librarian of Congress, talk with Kwame Alexander about her remarkable career & the unexpected firing that rocked the library world. www.c-span.org/bookTv/

Later than I planned to write this, but I wanted to share a short reflection on the first part of my ALA conference experience, the Expanding Information Access for Incarcerated People Convening. #ALAAC25 #Prisons #PrisonLibraries #InformationAccess #Incarceration #LSJI

Thanks to the lawsuit over book bans by the Department of Defense Education Activity, we now know the nearly 600 books banned in US military schools worldwide. The list prominently features LGBTQ+ books, books about racism, puberty titles, and comics. bookriot.com/whats-includ...

Sarah Jessica Parker talked about The Librarians on Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen! So honored to be part of this documentary—directed by Oscar-nominated Kim A. Snyder and produced by Oscar-nominated Janique Robillard. Grateful to SJP, an executive producer, for shining a light on it!

“ICE gets a bigger budget than the Marine Corps” is a simple fact that should be communicated very widely because it clearly expresses how crazy and radical this is