News and Updates

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 Florida, Maryland, and Virginia, as well as a look at some children's picture books that have been targeted in recent years.

Schools with a strong school library program—and a certified school librarian—ensure their students have the best chance to succeed. But in too many schools, school library budgets and school librarian positions are being cut. This puts our children’s education and workforce readiness at peril.

Each year, The College Football Playoff Foundation, a nonprofit committed to supporting education, teachers, and students, gives back to the community hosting the playoffs by investing in its teachers and schools. For this round, the foundation identified six Houston-area schools for a makeover, including Ponderosa Elementary which received a $50,000 grant to upgrade its library.

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 Iowa, Massachusetts, North Carolina, and Florida.

Want to get involved in your library at a higher level? Consider becoming a library trustee. Library trustees are powerful advocates for libraries. Through the coordination, hard work, and determination of trustees, new libraries have been built, budgets have been restored and increased, and new respect has been generated for the powerful role libraries play in communities and on campuses.

Each year, libraries across the country get into the holiday spirit with festive displays, educational and entertaining programs, and vital outreach and food drives for their communities. One thing that we particularly love seeing from libraries this time of year is simple but provides joy for patrons of all ages: trains.

The American Library Association and Chicago Today’s Banned Book Club will kick off the new year with a discussion of Art Spiegelman’s groundbreaking graphic novel, Maus. Spiegelman's Pulitzer Prize–winning work details his father's experiences during the Holocaust, with Jewish characters depicted as mice and Nazis as cats. Maus has been the subject of multiple challenges and bans since its publication in 1991, notably for depictions of nudity and adult language.

The American Library Association has announced the 10 recipients of the coveted I Love My Librarian Award. The 2024 recipients include three academic librarians, four public librarians and three school librarians who were nominated by patrons nationwide for their expertise, dedication and profound impact on the people in their communities.