May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Libraries play a critical and often overlooked role in helping to address the mental health challenges in our cities and society, with many libraries employing social services teams to connect patrons to critical services.

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 Colorado, Utah, Florida, and a look at state efforts to ban book bans.

On the May 5 episode of "Last Week Tonight," host John Oliver defended public libraries, stating they’ve become another front in the ongoing culture war as many experience attacks on their funding, staff, and collections.