News and Updates
Library Advocates Show Up for E-Rate
Advocates from the American Library Association and other public interest groups rallied on Capitol Hill in support of E-Rate, a federal program that funds broadband for libraries and schools, as the Supreme Court weighs its constitutionality.
U.S. Book Challenges Update: March 2025 Edition
Texas threatens jail time for school librarians who provide classic literature to students. “The Kite Runner” author speaks out about his book being banned in Minnesota schools. These are among the stories in our latest report on book bans and challenges happening across the U.S. and efforts to thwart them.
Books to Build Civic Engagement
It’s never too early to learn about the importance and power of elections. Developed by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, the Inspiring Future Voters booklist is a collection of titles that will help young people understand the importance of voting, civic engagement, and making their voices heard.
ALA Warns New IMLS Acting Director Not to Cut Legally Mandated Programs for Libraries and Museums
The American Library Association urged the new acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Keith Sonderling, to be mindful of the legal obligations that Congress has imposed on the agency.
What Does the Institute of Museum and Library Services Do, and How Will Its Elimination Affect You?
Some of the many programs that may be affected by the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services include: early literacy development; summer reading programs for kids; high-speed internet access; employment assistance for job seekers; braille and talking books for people with visual impairments; staff training, recruitment, and professional development; preservation, maintenance, and digitization of collections; and so much more.
Transforming Access: How Nearly 700 Small and Rural Libraries Are Advancing Accessibility
Since 2022, the American Library Association’s Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities initiative has awarded grants to 662 small and rural libraries nationwide. In the latest round of funding, 300 libraries will receive money to enhance accessibility to facilities, services, and programs for people with disabilities. Seventy-three percent of these round-three grantees serve populations of 5,000 people or less.
Trump Administration Calls for Elimination of Federal Agency that Funds Libraries
The Trump Administration has called for the elimination of the Institute for Museum and Library Services, the nation’s only federal agency that provides funds for America’s libraries.
A Lifelong Love of Books and Libraries
Hubbard (Ohio) Public Library’s oldest patron, Lily Walter, who celebrates her 105th birthday in May, stopped by the library last month to renew her library card. She told the library she has loved reading and libraries for 101 years—as long as she can remember.
Kentucky School Program Grows Readers, Leaders, and Community
In Louisville, Kentucky, an elementary school’s path to become a Spanish-immersion magnet school helped create an ALA award-winning program that raised awareness of the Hispanic/Latinx community and fostered the cultural competence and unity of all students by asking: What unites us?
‘The Blair Witch Project’ Joins University of Pittsburgh Library’s Horror Studies Collection
The University of Pittsburgh Library System’s Horror Studies Collection is a horror-lover’s dream. Amongst the holdings are the George A. Romero Archival Collection, consisting of hundreds of items from the influential “Night of the Living Dead” filmmaker, the literary papers of “Whalefall” and “The Shape of Water” author Daniel Kraus, scripts from filmmakers Wes Craven (“A Nightmare on Elm Street”) and John Carpenter (“Halloween”), and first editions of “Frankenstein,” “Dracula,” and various Edgar Allan Poe works. And now, students and researchers will have access to items from the 1999 found-footage classic, “The Blair Witch Project,” courtesy of the film’s producer.
The American Library Association is Defending E-Rate at the Supreme Court. Here’s Why that Matters.
E-Rate has been a quiet powerhouse providing broadband connectivity to libraries and schools across the U.S. for nearly three decades. A conservative group is challenging it in court.
Opening Doors
In Goldthwaite, a small, but vibrant town of approximately 1,700 people in central Texas, Jennie Trent Dew Library fills many voids in a community that is missing essential nonprofit and civic organizations. This made the library an ideal candidate for ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities grant, an initiative to assist small and rural libraries in providing greater accessibility of facilities, services, and programs for patrons with disabilities.
Library Advocates Show Up for E-Rate
Advocates from the American Library Association and other public interest groups rallied on Capitol Hill in support of E-Rate, a federal program that funds broadband for libraries and schools, as the Supreme Court weighs its constitutionality.
U.S. Book Challenges Update: March 2025 Edition
Texas threatens jail time for school librarians who provide classic literature to students. “The Kite Runner” author speaks out about his book being banned in Minnesota schools. These are among the stories in our latest report on book bans and challenges happening across the U.S. and efforts to thwart them.
Books to Build Civic Engagement
It’s never too early to learn about the importance and power of elections. Developed by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, the Inspiring Future Voters booklist is a collection of titles that will help young people understand the importance of voting, civic engagement, and making their voices heard.
ALA Warns New IMLS Acting Director Not to Cut Legally Mandated Programs for Libraries and Museums
The American Library Association urged the new acting director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, Keith Sonderling, to be mindful of the legal obligations that Congress has imposed on the agency.
What Does the Institute of Museum and Library Services Do, and How Will Its Elimination Affect You?
Some of the many programs that may be affected by the Trump administration’s decision to eliminate the Institute of Museum and Library Services include: early literacy development; summer reading programs for kids; high-speed internet access; employment assistance for job seekers; braille and talking books for people with visual impairments; staff training, recruitment, and professional development; preservation, maintenance, and digitization of collections; and so much more.
Transforming Access: How Nearly 700 Small and Rural Libraries Are Advancing Accessibility
Since 2022, the American Library Association’s Libraries Transforming Communities: Accessible Small and Rural Communities initiative has awarded grants to 662 small and rural libraries nationwide. In the latest round of funding, 300 libraries will receive money to enhance accessibility to facilities, services, and programs for people with disabilities. Seventy-three percent of these round-three grantees serve populations of 5,000 people or less.
