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graphics for How I Library episode 19 with Nick Brooks

‘How I Library’ Episode 19: Nick Brooks

June 13, 2025

In episode 19 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with Nick Brooks. Brooks is the critically acclaimed author of the award-winning young adult (Y.A.) thriller, “Promise Boys,” a filmmaker, and a musician from Washington, D.C. His new book, “Up In Smoke,” is another page-turning Y.A. thriller that follows the events that spiral after a murder is committed during a Black Lives Matter protest. It’s part murder mystery, part call to revolution.

Cropped book cover: Painting of a young Black woman painting rainbow stripes on her face.

Booklist Reader: New & Stellar LGBTQ Reads

June 9, 2025

Looking for your next great read this #PrideMonth? Our friends at Booklist Reader have you covered. From unforgettable queer fiction to timely memoirs and history, this New & Stellar LGBTQ Reads list has it all.

IMLS banner

Court Allows Trump Admin to Proceed with Efforts to Destroy IMLS as Case Continues

June 6, 2025

The library world—and Americans in general—received bad news late today when a federal judge declined to block the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The ruling, issued in ALA v. Sonderling, will allow the administration’s cuts at the independent agency while the case proceeds.

People standing together form the shape of all the continents in the world. Red hearts with books in them dot the map.

Libraries Around the World Rally Around America’s Libraries

June 4, 2025

The international library community is rallying around its peers and colleagues in the United States as they endure challenging times that have seen the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under attack by President Trump and Dr. Carla Hayden fired as the Librarian of Congress.

Beals Memorial Library sensory box

Seeing Beyond the Spectrum

June 2, 2025

Alexis Chanthachack, assistant director of Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon, Massachusetts, knows how difficult it can be to find activities and events—especially in rural areas—that are welcoming to autistic youth. That immediacy led the mother of two sons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to become the driving force behind the library’s accessibility work—work that led the library to receive a Libraries Transforming Communities Accessible Small and Rural Communities grant from the American Library Association to enhance accessibility for patrons on the autism spectrum.

banned books map for May 19, 2023

U.S. Book Challenges Update: May 2025 Edition

May 29, 2025

Our latest report on book bans happening across the the U.S. and efforts to fight them includes news from Tennessee and Texas, as well as a look at the banning of a picture book by the beloved author of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

Fund Libraries graphic

Tell Congress to Fund Libraries Before It’s Too Late

May 19, 2025

Libraries across the country are having their funding slashed—with more planned in the future. It’s time to let Washington know that we’re fed up with it. The best way for any Congressmember to demonstrate their commitment to library funding is to sign on to “Dear Appropriator” letters in support of libraries. These letters close tomorrow, May 20, so we need to act now and urge them to sign.

'How I Library' Episode 18: Marium Zahra and Aruja Misra from PBS News Student Reporting Labs

‘How I Library’ Episode 18: Marium Zahra and Aruja Misra from PBS News Student Reporting Labs

May 15, 2025

In episode 18 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with Marium Zahra and Aruja Misra, two high school students from Texas who are participants in “On Our Minds,” an award-winning podcast series about the teenage experience from PBS News Student Reporting Labs. The new season asks teens, “Who Inspires You?” For Zahra and Misra, it was their school librarian who is beloved on campus for being a proponent of reading banned books. Zahra and Misra join the show to discuss working with PBS News, podcasting, journalism, banned books, and of course, how they library.

Roadtrip Nation graphic

Hit the Open Road for a Library Career

May 13, 2025

This September, Roadtrip Nation is sending three people across the U.S. in a green RV to meet librarians, community leaders, and innovators who’ve built careers helping others access knowledge and opportunity. Along the way, they will gain real-world insights, career inspiration, and invaluable mentorship—all while being filmed the Roadtrip Nation television series on PBS. And you can be part of it.

Miriam Tuliao on a dock

Librarian to Run 18 Miles to Raise Money for Diversity Scholarship

May 10, 2025

Miriam Tuliao, senior library marketing manager at Penguin Random House and an adjunct library science instructor at Queens College, City University of New York and Indiana University–Purdue University Indianapolis, will run 18 miles on Global Running Day (June 4) to raise funds for the American Library Association’s Spectrum Scholarship Program. This is her 18th consecutive year organizing an athletic fundraiser for the program.

Library director and teen services library specialist in front of Hewitt Public Library

Texas Libraries Provide a Lifeline to Mental Health

May 7, 2025

May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Libraries play a critical and often overlooked role in helping their patrons and communities address mental health challenges. Libraries in Texas are taking this responsibility to heart, and one did so with help from the American Library Association.

Exterior view of the historic E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse which houses the U.S. District Court and U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. Washington, D.C.

Federal Court Halts Dismantling of Institute of Museum and Library Services

May 2, 2025

The library world experienced a victory yesterday when the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted a temporary restraining order to block President Trump’s dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the only federal agency dedicated to the nation’s libraries and museums.

Kids reading outside

Hey Kids, It’s Summer Reading Time

May 1, 2025

The school year is wrapping up for many students, giving them even more time to discover some new favorite books. Thankfully, the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), a division of the American Library Association, has released its 2025 Summer Reading Lists just in time. ALSC’s Summer Reading Lists feature books and digital media options to keep children engaged in reading and exploring throughout the summer. Here are some highlights.

Map of the United States with several books engulfed in flames scattered across the map.

U.S. Book Challenges Update: April 2025 Edition

April 29, 2025

Libraries and schools across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of attempts to ban or remove books from their shelves. I Love Libraries will continue to raise awareness by highlighting attempts to censor library materials, as well as efforts by librarians, parents, students, and concerned citizens to push back against them. This report includes news from Tennessee and Texas, as well as looks at two authors who are standing up against book censorship.

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graphics for How I Library episode 19 with Nick Brooks

‘How I Library’ Episode 19: Nick Brooks

June 13, 2025

In episode 19 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with Nick Brooks. Brooks is the critically acclaimed author of the award-winning young adult (Y.A.) thriller, “Promise Boys,” a filmmaker, and a musician from Washington, D.C. His new book, “Up In Smoke,” is another page-turning Y.A. thriller that follows the events that spiral after a murder is committed during a Black Lives Matter protest. It’s part murder mystery, part call to revolution.

Cropped book cover: Painting of a young Black woman painting rainbow stripes on her face.

Booklist Reader: New & Stellar LGBTQ Reads

June 9, 2025

Looking for your next great read this #PrideMonth? Our friends at Booklist Reader have you covered. From unforgettable queer fiction to timely memoirs and history, this New & Stellar LGBTQ Reads list has it all.

IMLS banner

Court Allows Trump Admin to Proceed with Efforts to Destroy IMLS as Case Continues

June 6, 2025

The library world—and Americans in general—received bad news late today when a federal judge declined to block the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). The ruling, issued in ALA v. Sonderling, will allow the administration’s cuts at the independent agency while the case proceeds.

People standing together form the shape of all the continents in the world. Red hearts with books in them dot the map.

Libraries Around the World Rally Around America’s Libraries

June 4, 2025

The international library community is rallying around its peers and colleagues in the United States as they endure challenging times that have seen the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under attack by President Trump and Dr. Carla Hayden fired as the Librarian of Congress.

Beals Memorial Library sensory box

Seeing Beyond the Spectrum

June 2, 2025

Alexis Chanthachack, assistant director of Beals Memorial Library in Winchendon, Massachusetts, knows how difficult it can be to find activities and events—especially in rural areas—that are welcoming to autistic youth. That immediacy led the mother of two sons diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder to become the driving force behind the library’s accessibility work—work that led the library to receive a Libraries Transforming Communities Accessible Small and Rural Communities grant from the American Library Association to enhance accessibility for patrons on the autism spectrum.

banned books map for May 19, 2023

U.S. Book Challenges Update: May 2025 Edition

May 29, 2025

Our latest report on book bans happening across the the U.S. and efforts to fight them includes news from Tennessee and Texas, as well as a look at the banning of a picture book by the beloved author of “The Very Hungry Caterpillar.”

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