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Board Advising IMLS Tells Acting Director Mandates ‘Cannot’ Be Hindered
In a March 24 letter, the National Museum and Library Services Board laid out the Institute of Museum and Library Services’ statutory obligations for its acting director, Keith Sonderling, as supporters continued to speak out on behalf of the embattled federal agency.
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TLA 2025: A Library Renaissance Roundup
Presentations from household-name authors and professional panels for light-bulb moments are on the schedule in Dallas.
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TLA 2025: Librarians Saddle Up for Dallas
The biggest library show in Texas hightails it to Big D, with a theme of ‘Library Renaissance: The Quest for Renewal’
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Deputy Secretary of Labor Installed as Acting Director of the IMLS
Following a March 14 executive order to scale back the Institute for Museum and Library Services, Keith Sonderling was sworn in as the grant-making agency's leader on March 20, accompanied by DOGE personnel.
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Executive Order Targets the Institute of Museum and Library Services
The ALA, EveryLibrary, and other organizations and individuals have rushed to defend the IMLS against the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to eliminate the agency, which plays a key role in distributing congressionally approved funds to libraries, museums, and archives across the country.
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Library Futures Investigates Content Bans in Research Databases
The nonprofit’s new report, Neo-Censorship in U.S. Libraries: An Investigation Into Digital Content Suppression, details the targeting of educational databases and the rise of legal challenges against libraries.
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Library Database Providers Clash Over Subscription Models
Data and analytics resource ProQuest will require libraries to lease content rather than make permanent acquisitions, shocking the library community. Competitor EBSCO responded by assuring customers that it will continue its perpetual access policy.
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New Bills in Iowa Threaten to Tighten Obscenity Provisions for Libraries
House File 274 would repeal a section of the Iowa Code that addresses obscenity exemptions for public libraries and educational institutions, while Senate File 347 proposes steep fines for sharing allegedly obscene work with minors. American Library Association president-elect Sam Helmick called the legislative pairing “a parfait of awful.”
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American Library Association Establishes Public Supporter Program
Using its I Love Libraries website as a platform, the ALA has launched a public supporter program intended to generate donations and keep library patrons apprised of the organization’s advocacy work and grants.
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Publishers, Authors Guild Sue State of Idaho Over Book Banning Law
The plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction against against HB 710, which forbids anyone under 18 from accessing library books that contain “sexual content,” regardless of the work's literary or educational merit.
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Future of Libraries, Arts Agencies Unclear Amid Federal Funding Freeze
An order to freeze all federal loans, grants, and other financial assistance has been rescinded for now, but the Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Arts, and other agencies are preparing for potential cuts to their funding.
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Digital Checkouts Rose 17% at OverDrive
Digital borrowing of e-books, audiobooks, and digital magazines rose to more than 739 million checkouts at the libraries and schools who use OverDrive's Libby and Sora apps.
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Industry Orgs Decry New DOE Guidance Dismissing 'Book Ban Hoax'
The Department of Education has reversed course in its efforts to stem the tide of what it now describes as "so-called" school book bans, eliminating the role of book ban coordinator at the Office of Civil Rights and dismissing 11 outstanding complaints filed with the DOE.
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Little Free Library Executive Director Greig Metzger to Retire
During Metzger’s six-year tenure, the St. Paul, Minn.–based nonprofit saw its network of book-sharing boxes double. A national search for his successor will be conducted prior to his retirement in June 2025.
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Louisiana Supreme Court Revives Librarian Amanda Jones’s Defamation Suit
After some two years of legal wrangling, Jones will finally get her day in court after the Louisiana Supreme Court vacated a decision tossing the defamation case and remanded it back to the appeals court with an order to hear the case on the merits.
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Freedom to Read Advocates Celebrate a Major Legal Victory in Arkansas
After issuing a preliminary injunction in July 2023, a federal judge in Arkansas has now permanently struck down two key provisions of Arkansas’s controversial “harmful to minors” law, known as Act 372, finding the law to be unconstitutional.
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The Top 10 Library Stories of 2024
PW looks back at some of the library stories that captivated the publishing world this year and what they portend for 2025.
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Editor's Note: So Long, Not Goodbye
A sincere thank you from outgoing PW executive editor Andrew Albanese, and best wishes for a happy holiday season.
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New Jersey Delivers a Victory for the Freedom to Read—and for Librarians
More than three years after she became a target of abuse from book banners, librarian Martha Hickson found herself standing side by side with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on December 9 as he signed the state’s Freedom to Read Act into law.
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Librarian Amanda Jones Files New Defamation Lawsuit
In a November 26 complaint, Jones accused Dan Kleinman, a longtime ALA critic who authors a blog called Safe Libraries, of Defamation and False Light, seeking damages in excess of $75,000.
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