News and Updates

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Library

Native Representation

Saginaw Chippewa Tribal Libraries in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, created a program to encourage Native individuals living in the region to consider running for non-Tribal elected offices themselves to help ensure that diverse perspectives are part of community conversations and policy decisions. They used resources provided by the American Library Association’s 2024 Peggy Barber Tribute Grant to facilitate the initiative.

Mychal Threets

Librarian Named to Time’s List of 100 Most Influential Creators

Congratulations to librarian Mychal Threets for being named to the Time100 Creators: Most Influential Digital Voices list for 2025, Time’s inaugural celebration of the digital creators who have emerged to shape our culture. “They are changing what we watch, how we spend our time, what we buy, and how we vote,” says the magazine.

Fund Libraries graphic

Tell Congress to Fund Libraries!

While court cases related to President Trump’s attempt to gut the Institute of Museum and Library Services and the Department of Education move forward, we urgently need Congress to ensure that library programs receive full federal funding in the next fiscal year. We need everyone to call and urge Congress to support libraries before the July 21 deadline. It’s vital for the future of our libraries.

Carla Hayden at the 2025 ALA Annual Conference

Thank You, Dr. Hayden!

Dr. Carla Hayden spoke on Friday at the American Library Association’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia, and librarians, library workers, and book lovers in attendance greeted the former Librarian of Congress with a wave of love, respect, and applause when she took the stage. It was a unforgettable, moving tribute to Dr. Hayden, who was unceremoniously fired from her position leading the Library of Congress by President Trump in May.

banned books map for March 3, 2023

U.S. Book Challenges Update: June 2025 Edition

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, Tennessee, and Texas.

Wright Memorial Public Library exterior with garden plaque

Nature’s Best Hope

Encouraging an appreciation for our natural surroundings is always in season, and it’s no secret that libraries often provide garden areas, flower beds, and other outdoor areas for patron and community enjoyment and use. Wright Memorial Public Library in Oakwood, Ohio, took that a step further—and was rewarded a grant from ALA as a result.

graphics for How I Library episode 19 with Nick Brooks

‘How I Library’ Episode 19: Nick Brooks

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

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.

Patron using memory kit at Mark Twain Library in Connecticut

Making Memories at the Library

Residents of Redding, Connecticut, can now connect with loved ones experiencing memory loss thanks to a program implemented at Mark Twain Library. And it all began with one simple patron request.

Too Bright to See cover, author Kyle Lukoff

Author Pens Letter Urging School District to Reinstate Banned Book

Author Kyle Lukoff sent a letter this week to Escambia County (Fla.) School Board over its decision to remove his book, “Too Bright to See,” from its libraries because it features a transgender character. The letter was sent in tandem with a request from Penguin Random House and PEN America urging the district to reinstate the book and stop restricting students’ right to read.

Shelf Care logo

New Reads for a New Year

Are you looking to start the new year with a new book? The editors at Booklist, the American Library Association’s book review journal, share a wealth of suggestions on the latest episode of their podcast.

Public Libraries Share Their Most-Borrowed Books of 2024

NPR’s Neda Ulaby scanned the most-borrowed-books lists of 2024 from several public libraries across U.S. to see what library-goers were reading throughout the year. The selections are a mix of new titles and some older favorites.

Composite of ten photos of the 2025 I Love My Librarian honorees with the award logo in the middle. From top left: Abby Armour, Charlotte Chung, Missy Creed, Jessica Gleason, Peggy Griffith. From bottom left: Candice Hardy, Analine Johnson, Theresa Quiner, Jamar Rahming, Nelson Santana.

Ten Honorees Receive Prestigious I Love My Librarian Award

The American Library Association has announced the 10 recipients of the I Love My Librarian Award. Serving communities across the nation, the 2025 award winners include four academic librarians, three public librarians, and three school librarians who were nominated by community members for their expertise, dedication, and impact on the people in their communities.

Jennie Trent Dew Library

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.

banned books map for August 18, 2023

U.S. Book Challenges Update: February 2025 Edition

More than 500 books removed from schools in Tennessee. An Oscar-winning actor reacts to her book being banned. These are among the stories in our latest report on book bans and challenges happening across the U.S. and efforts to thwart them.

How I Library Episode 15 with Eric Rogers graphic

‘How I Library’ Podcast Episode 15: Eric Rogers

In episode 15 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with television, film, and podcast writer Eric Rogers, whose credits include “Futurama,” “NYPD Blue,” “Skylanders Academy,” “Polly Pocket,” “Teen Titans Go!,” and more. He is currently the creator, executive producer, and showrunner of the animated series for kids, “Angry Birds: Mystery Island.” Rogers joins the show to discuss “Angry Birds,” his writing career, what goes into making a television show, especially an animated show for kids, and of course, how he libraries.

BCALA members at the 1977 ALA Annual Conference

Fifty-Five Years of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association

Fifty-five years ago, Black librarians came together to establish an organization that would change librarianship and the American Library Association. Established in 1970, the Black Caucus of the American Library Association advocates for the development, promotion, and improvement of library services and resources to the nation’s African American community and provides leadership for the recruitment and professional development of African American librarians. It was the culmination of decades of conversations and work.

Graphic from Hirayasumi, Vol. One

And the Best Graphic Novels for Adults of 2024 Are…

Attention comic book and graphic novel lovers—this is big news! The American Library Association’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table has announced its 2024 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List and Top 10 List.

human skulls on exhibit

What Does It Mean to Be Human?

A touring exhibit that looks deep into the past to explain how humankind evolved over millennia has found welcome homes in libraries and seminaries across the United States.

kids in library

Poverty and Philanthropy: Combining Education with Community Needs

In the latter half of the 2010s, 6th graders at Wyoming (Ohio) Middle School took a class that gave them firsthand experience in addressing food disparity in the community—one that ended up winning the school in the Cincinnati suburbs a grant from the American Library Association.

For Our Libraries graphic

We’ve Made Some Changes

We’ve made some changes here at I Love Libraries, but one thing has remained the same: our dedication to sharing the wonderful world of libraries with you. And the facelift allows us to do that in exciting, new ways.