Efforts to restrict or protect libraries both grew this year; Iowa Capital Dispatch, July 23, 2025

ROBBIE SEQUEIRA | STATELINE , Iowa Capital Dispatch ; Efforts to restrict or protect libraries both grew this year

"State lawmakers across the country filed more bills to restrict or protect libraries and readers in the first half of this year than last year, a new report found.

The split fell largely along geographic lines, according to the report from EveryLibrary, a group that advocates against book bans and censorship...

The geographic split among these policies is stark.

In Southern and Plains states, new laws increasingly criminalize certain actions of librarians, restrict access to materials about gender and race, and transfer decision-making power to politically appointed boards or parent-led councils.

Texas alone passed a trio of sweeping laws stripping educators of certain legal protections when providing potentially obscene materials; banning public funding for instructional materials containing obscene content; and giving parents more authority over student reading choices and new library additions.

In contrast, several Northeastern states have passed legislation protections for libraries and librarians and anti-censorship laws.

New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island and Connecticut have each enacted “freedom to read” or other laws that codify protections against ideological censorship in libraries."

Librarians on the frontline; MV Times, July 31, 2025

Abby Remer, MV Times; Librarians on the frontline

"Kim A. Snyder’s “The Librarians,” screening at the Grange Hall on August 1, is part of the Martha’s Vineyard Film Festival’s 25th anniversary Summer Celebration Series.

The powerful, deeply chilling documentary exposes the complexities surrounding the rising tide of book bans in libraries over the past five years, and the courageous heroes who battle against them. 

Snyder, an Oscar-nominated and Peabody-winning director, opens the documentary with Ray Bradbury’s unsettling words from “Fahrenheit 451”: “It was a pleasure to burn. It was a specific pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed.”

She goes on to weave together tense school board meetings with intimate interviews of librarians on the frontlines who have been fired, harassed, and stalked as they defend books about race and LGBTQ topics. Snyder enhances current real-life events with clips from old movies that rail against librarians and endorse book-burning, reflecting how scarily close reality has come to art. 

The first voice we hear is that of a distressed librarian who is backlit to remain anonymous. “I never imagined that what’s happening now could ever happen. It didn’t dawn on us that we’d come under attack. We never imagined we’d be at the forefront … We’re stewards of the space, of the resources. We’re stewards for the people … Now we’ve moved into the vanguard.”

Throughout the film, we meet librarians in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida as they face fierce opponents — including politicians, the right-wing organization Moms for Liberty, and conservative school boards — while defending access to books that reflect students’ lives. Although their passion is evident, it is even more powerful to watch clips of students testifying or sharing informal moments about their experiences, as they are the ones harmed by the removal of books that speak to their truth. One teenage student at a school board meeting stands at a podium, confronting the members: “The job of the superintendent and school board is not only to protect students in this district, but to make them feel like they have a place in this community. I have got to tell you, from what I’m seeing so far, you are failing at your job … Stop the censorship in our district. Wake up to the reality that we are all different, and we should embrace each other with love and not blatant hate.”...

At the film’s end, the anonymous librarian comes forth on camera, leaving us with her words, “I can’t stay in the shadows anymore … I won’t be censored, just like we can’t let them keep censoring the stories in our books. What I do know is that our story is still being written. But now it’s everyone’s story.”"

"Codifying Censorship or Reclaiming Rights: The State-by-State 2025 Legislative Landscape for Libraries; EveryLibrary, July 15, 2025

EveryLibrary ; Codifying Censorship or Reclaiming Rights: The State-by-State 2025 Legislative Landscape for Libraries

Trump Told Park Workers to Report Displays That ‘Disparage’ Americans. Here’s What They Flagged.; The New York Times, July 22, 2025

Maxine Joselow and Lisa Friedman, The New York Times; Trump Told Park Workers to Report Displays That ‘Disparage’ Americans. Here’s What They Flagged.

[Kip Currier: Trump's order directing National Park Service (NPS) staff to flag historical signs that "inappropriately disparage Americans" is contemptible and reads like a dystopian plot point befitting Fahrenheit 451 or 1984. It's also contrary to the advancement of knowledge and rigorous historical inquiry.

As a lifelong aficionado of the stunning diversity of America's national parks, I also find this directive deeply offensive because it seeks to sanitize and censor the complexity of U.S history: solely to satisfy one American's monarchical sense of what is and is not "appropriate". That is inherently un-American.

Thank goodness, then, that a heroic superteam of librarians, historians, and others are mobilizing right now to safeguard records of American history from erasure and expurgation. Until the day that fulsome, tangled, sobering, uplifting historical record -- our individual and collective history and legacy -- can be restored, appreciated, and learned from in all of its imperfectness.]

[Excerpt]

"According to internal documents reviewed by The New York Times, employees of the National Park Service have flagged descriptions and displays at scores of parks and historic sites for review in connection with President Trump’s directive to remove or cover up materials that “inappropriately disparage Americans.”

In an executive order in March, the president instructed the Park Service to review plaques, films and other materials presented to visitors at 433 sites around the country, with the aim of ensuring they emphasize the “progress of the American people” and the “grandeur of the American landscape.”

Employees had until last week to flag materials that could be changed or deleted, and the Trump administration said it would remove all “inappropriate” content by Sept. 17, according to the internal agency documents. The public also has been asked to submit potential changes.

In response, a coalition of librarians, historians and others organized through the University of Minnesota has launched a campaign called “Save Our Signs.” It is asking the public to take photos of existing content at national parks and upload it. The group is using those images to build a public archive before any materials may be altered. So far, it has more than 800 submissions."

Carla Hayden on her time as a pioneering librarian of Congress and getting fired by Trump; PBS News, June 20, 2025

Geoff Bennett , PBS News; Carla Hayden on her time as a pioneering librarian of Congress and getting fired by Trump

"Geoff Bennett: What effect do you believe censorship has on our democracy?

• Dr. Carla Hayden:

  As Alberto Manguel said, as centuries of dictators, tyrants, slave owners and other illicit holders of power have known, an illiterate crowd is the easiest to rule. And if you cannot restrict a people from learning to read, you must limit its scope.

  And that is the danger of making sure that people don't have access.

• Geoff Bennett:

  She says she will keep advocating for her beliefs and feels bolstered by support from elected officials on both sides of the aisle, as well as from people across the country.

  She shared that her 93-year-old mother has been cataloging the notes and messages she's received. A former president of the American Library Association, Hayden is set to address some of its 50,000 members at their annual meeting. This year's agenda, she says, takes on new urgency.

• Dr. Carla Hayden:

  How to help communities support their libraries, how to deal with personal attacks that libraries are having, even death threats in some communities for libraries.

  So this convening of librarians that are in schools, universities, public libraries will be really our rally. We have been called feisty fighters for freedom."

Librarians, supporters rail against new regime at Alabama Public Library Service; Alabama Political Reporter, May 9, 2025

JACOB HOLMES,  Alabama Political Reporter; 

Librarians, supporters rail against new regime at Alabama Public Library Service

"More than 30 people showed up to speak out at the latest Alabama Public Library Service meeting on Thursday, with the vast majority expressing harsh criticism of the board’s actions since Chairman John Wahl took over."

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden is fired by Trump; Politico, May 8, 2025

NICHOLAS WU, LISA KASHINSKY and KATHERINE TULLY-MCMANUS, Politico; Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden is fired by Trump

[Kip Currier: I saw this story at 4:11 AM EDT via Library Link of the Day. I'd had an inkling this might be coming after seeing a 4/30/25 Daily Mail story ("Trump urged to fire 'deep state librarians' as he continues massive government purge") about the American Accountability Foundation targeting the Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden and the Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter; that latter office reports to the Librarian of Congress. Dr. Hayden's bio (excerpted in part) states that:

Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress on September 14, 2016. Dr. Hayden, the first woman and the first African American to lead the national library, was nominated to the position by President Barack Obama on February 24, 2016, and her nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate later that year on July 13.

Her vision for America’s national library, connecting all Americans to the Library of Congress, has redefined and modernized the Library’s mission: to engage, inspire and inform Congress and the American people with a universal and enduring source of knowledge and creativity.

During her tenure, Dr. Hayden has prioritized efforts to make the Library and its unparalleled collections more accessible to the public. Through her social media presence, events and activities, she has introduced new audiences to many of the Library’s treasures – from Frederick Douglass’ papers, to the contents of President Abraham Lincoln’s pockets on the night of his assassination, to James Madison’s crystal flute made famous by Lizzo.

https://www.loc.gov/about/about-the-librarian/

 

This is the first firing of a Librarian of Congress since that office was first filled in 1802 by an appointee (John James Buckley) of America's 3rd President Thomas Jefferson. All prior Librarians of Congress retired or passed away while serving in the position.

The Library of Congress was established in 1800 in Washington, D.C. It is the world's largest library and functions as the de facto national library of the United States. See Welcome message below, as of 5/9/25 6:55 AM EDT, on Library of Congress website:

Welcome Message from Carla Hayden, 14th Librarian of Congress

The Library of Congress is the largest library in the world, with millions of books, films and video, audio recordings, photographs, newspapers, maps and manuscripts in its collections. The Library is the main research arm of the U.S. Congress and the home of the U.S. Copyright Office.

The Library preserves and provides access to a rich, diverse and enduring source of knowledge to inform, inspire and engage you in your intellectual and creative endeavors. Whether you are new to the Library of Congress or an experienced researcher, we have a world-class staff ready to assist you online and in person.

I encourage you to visit the Library of Congress in person in Washington, D.C., explore the Library online from wherever you are and connect with us on social media.

Sincerely,

Carla Hayden

Librarian of Congress"

https://www.loc.gov/about/]

[Excerpt]

"President Donald Trump fired Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden Thursday, according to a library spokesperson and an email obtained by POLITICO.

“Carla, On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as the Librarian of Congress is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” wrote Deputy Director of Presidential Personnel Trent Morse in an email to Hayden sent at 6:56 p.m."

What the puck? The Seattle Kraken have 2 staff librarians; KUOW, May 1, 2025

Katie Campbell , KUOW; What the puck? The Seattle Kraken have 2 staff librarians

"To say Gina Rome and Ashley Hufford have their dream job would be a little misleading — it wasn't a job they knew they could dream of before they had it. 

They're librarians for the Seattle Kraken. More officially speaking, Rome is the team's digital asset librarian, and Hufford is the digital asset manager. Both have master's degrees in library sciences...

That's why some professional sports teams have hired professional librarians to manage their digital media. And it's not just hockey. Recent Super Bowl champions the Philadelphia Eagles have a digital asset librarian, too. That's because librarians have the skills to arrange, archive, and access the team's assets in a more methodical way than your average marketing specialist, media editor, or, yeah, a pile of hard drives.

They're not just managing the assets. They're also sorting through them to pick the best of the best for any given need."

New documentary reveals history of public libraries, features Wisconsin librarians and patrons; Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR), May 5, 2025

 AVERY LEA ROGERS, Wisconsin Public Radio (WPR); New documentary reveals history of public libraries, features Wisconsin librarians and patrons

"What began a decade ago as a mission to learn about the history of public libraries around the country is now a documentary airing on PBS. 

Dawn Logsdon is the director of “Free for All: The Public Library.” A lifelong public library patron, she told WPR’s “Wisconsin Today” that she grew tired of hearing people question the value of public libraries in the internet age. 

“You can only think that way if you haven’t been in a library in about 30 or 40 years,” Logsdon said. “They’re not just a place to store books. They’re a place for people to come together and read, learn, get information, all kinds of things.”...

The documentary is now available to stream on the PBS website or app."

American University librarians take up the mantle with government data rescue project; the Eagle, May 1, 2025

Mackenzie Konjoyan , the Eagle; American University librarians take up the mantle with government data rescue project

[Kip Currier: Thank you to all information professionals and citizen archivists who are preserving and making government data/information accessible now -- and for the future.]

[Excerpt]

"Librarians carry a professional responsibility to protect the right to non-censored open information, Nellis said. The work being done at the University is a part of a larger effort across the country by those who understand data’s value. 

Nellis added that awareness is the first step in preserving data and that everyone can get involved in saving information because the data ecosystem is vast.

“It doesn’t take that much effort to have a high impact and everyone can help,” Nellis said. 

Nellis warned that the federal government is cutting citizens out of the processes of democracy by making decisions behind closed doors and by limiting the amount of information people can access. 

“We have the right to this information, and to see it being taken down, to see it being lost, should be a moral outrage for every citizen and person living in this country,” Nellis said."

The ALA Sues Over the Scuppering of the IMLS; Publishers Weekly, April 8, 2025

John Maher, with reporting by Nathalie op de Beeck , Publishers Weekly; The ALA Sues Over the Scuppering of the IMLS

"The American Library Association (ALA) and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), whose members include museum and library workers nationwide, have sued over what the ALA called, in a release, “the Trump administration’s gutting of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS).” Among the defendants are Keith Sonderling, in his capacity as acting director of the IMLS, along with the IMLS itself; President Donald Trump; and U.S. DOGE Service acting administrator Amy Gleason, along with DOGE itself.

The lawsuit, filed yesterday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, argues that the administration’s recent actions—which include firing most IMLS staff, terminating grant programs, and effectively shutting down the organization’s operations—are both illegal and, separately, unconstitutional. The actions, the suit asserts, violate the first two articles of the Constitution: Article I, which establishes the separation of powers and designates Congress as the only body with authority to pass laws creating government agencies, and Article II, which enumerates the president’s duty to “take care that the Laws be faithfully executed.” It also alleges that the defendants’ actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, which establishes the responsibility of the judiciary to “hold unlawful and set aside agency action...found to be arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with law.

In addition, the suit asserts, “Defendants’ evisceration of the agency will have immediate and disastrous consequences for Plaintiffs ALA and AFSCME as well as their members, including librarians, libraries, and the public.”"

Being a librarian was already hard. Then came the Trump administration; The Guardian, April 7, 2025

Rainesford Stauffer, The Guardian; Being a librarian was already hard. Then came the Trump administration

"For many librarians, the stakes of the job are high – they’re facing burnout, book bans, legislation pushed by rightwing groups, and providing essential resources in an effort to fill gaps in the US’s social safety net.

Now, as Donald Trump’s administration rolls out their agenda, many librarians are describing his policies as “catastrophic” to accessing information and the libraries themselves – institutions considered fundamental to democracy...

Elon Musk’s unofficial “department of government efficiency” recently gutted the Institute of Museum and Library Services, which the American Library Association noted greatly affects the important services they offer, including high-speed internet access, summer reading programs, veterans’ telehealth spaces and more, with the most intense losses in rural communities.

While the majority of public library funding comes from city and county taxes, according to EveryLibrary, the IMLS provides grants that support these critical services in every state...

Librarians are speaking out about what communities could lose, including internet access and workforce development in Kentucky, the Talking Book and Braille Center in New Jersey, digital hotspots in North Carolina, and much more outlined in reporting from Book Riot. As librarians grappled with losses that would directly affect their work, the IMLS Instagram accountissued posts appearing to mock grantees."

‘The Librarians’ EP Sarah Jessica Parker On The Spread Of Book Banning: “It’s A Fear Of Children Having Information” – Sundance Studio; Deadline, January 25, 2025

Matthew Carey, Deadline ; ‘The Librarians’ EP Sarah Jessica Parker On The Spread Of Book Banning: “It’s A Fear Of Children Having Information” – Sundance Studio

"TITLE: The Librarians

Section: Premieres

Director: Kim A. Snyder

Logline: As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians who find themselves under siege join forces as unlikely defenders in the fight for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy. Kim A. Snyder (Us Kids, 2020 Sundance Film Festival) takes us to an unexpected front line where librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and free access to information."

Judge Strikes Down Portions of Arkansas Law That Threatened Librarians; The New York Times, December 24, 2024

Eduardo Medina, The New York Times; Judge Strikes Down Portions of Arkansas Law That Threatened Librarians

"A federal judge has struck down portions of an Arkansas law that could have sent librarians and booksellers to prison for providing material that might be considered harmful to minors.

The ruling by Judge Timothy Brooks of the U.S. District Court in the Western District of Arkansas is certain to be appealed. But his decision on Monday provided at least a temporary victory to librarians and booksellers who have said that the law would create a chilling effect since anyone could object to any book and pursue criminal charges against the person who provided it."

Facing Cuts Likely to Worsen Under Trump, Academic Librarians Urgently Organize; Truthout, November 17, 2024

 Emily Drabinski, Truthout; Facing Cuts Likely to Worsen Under Trump, Academic Librarians Urgently Organize

"The Project 2025 blueprint for the next Trump administration sets its sights on two crucial public institutions: libraries and higher education. Librarians show up on page 5 — targeted for their support for LGBTQIA+ reading — while dismantling the Department of Education, eliminating student loan programs, and restricting what can be taught about gender, race and class feature throughout the document. But even as academic librarians live in dread of what will happen to their libraries after January 20, many of them are also already facing termination now...

In March, the Department of Education (DOE) announced plans to eliminate data collection about academic libraries from its Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System. In contemporary higher education, resources are allocated to those who can make a data-driven case for them — that’s part of what it means to run a school like a business. Removing libraries from the survey means that they can’t be counted at all. In a joint comment, several major library associations argued that such a decision would make it impossible to benchmark resources and services at the 3,700 academic libraries in the U.S. that data librarians use to argue for increased staffing and materials budgets. Such erasure will also make it impossible “to understand the cost of information over time, as well as the correlation between research expenditures and the cost of information.” The DOE still plans to eliminate academic library data beginning in 2025-26, undercutting the capacity of librarians to articulate their value in the data-driven language required by the contemporary university."

A Librarian From Louisiana Fights Book Bans and ‘the Haters’; The New York Times, November 4, 2024

 James Barron , The New York Times; A Librarian From Louisiana Fights Book Bans and ‘the Haters’

"Amanda Jones of Watson, La., is sure to get a shout-out at the New York Public Library’s $5,000-a-person gala tonight. The library, which invited her to attend, is giving her a free ticket.

Amid a surge in book bans nationwide, Jones moved into the spotlight in 2022 with a brief speech during a meeting at her hometown public library — not the library she oversees at a local middle school. She said books with L.G.B.T.Q. themes should not be taken off the shelves. Almost immediately, she began receiving expletive-laden messages accusing her of being a pedophile.

Jones stood her ground, writing a memoir, “That Librarian: The Fight Against Book Banning in America.” She also started a group called Louisiana Citizens Against Censorship to lobby against restrictions on libraries.

“The backlash she faced is a testament to the urgent need to protect intellectual freedom,” said Anthony Marx, the president of the New York Public Library."

Penn State librarians support freedom to read, unite against book bans; Penn State, October 17, 2024

Penn State; Penn State librarians support freedom to read, unite against book bans

"Saturday, Oct. 19, is the Freedom to Read Community Day of Action, a national event designated by the American Library Association (ALA) and United Against Book Bans to celebrate America’s libraries, safeguard the freedom to read and encourage civic participation.

According to Russell Hall, reference and instruction librarian at Penn State University Libraries’ John M. Lilley Library and Penn State Erie, The Behrend College, his is one voice among many with strong feelings about book banning and censorship.

“Our core values as librarians are found in the Library Bill of Rights, which holds that libraries should challenge censorship in the fulfillment of their responsibility to provide information and enlightenment,” said Hall, a past chair of the Intellectual Freedom Committee for the Pennsylvania Library Association, which serves to advocate for freedom of selection of materials for all libraries and oppose any infringement of intellectual freedom upon libraries. “We believe people are free to choose what they want to read, and to determine what their own children can and should read, but do not have the right to impose their will upon others who are free to make that choice for themselves.”

There’s nothing new about book bans. For centuries, published works ranging from religious texts to classic literature to contemporary novels deemed too controversial for young readers have been targeted for removal from library shelves across the United States...

Joel Burkholder, reference and instruction librarian at Lee R. Glatfelter Library at Penn State York, agreed. “Ban advocates try to frame their efforts as objective policy rather than an ideological agenda,” he said. “It’s the same basic tactic as citing peer-reviewed research to support the predetermined conclusion that pornography is a public health crisis or that being trans is a choice.”

For more information on the Freedom to Read Community Day of Action and events planned across the country, visit the United Against Book Bans website."

Louisiana librarian, anti-book banning author to speak on censorship at Iowa City Book Festival; The Gazette, October 11, 2024

 Elijah Decious, The Gazette; Louisiana librarian, anti-book banning author to speak on censorship at Iowa City Book Festival

"The librarian, who has for decades worked in the same school she attended as a child, filed three police reports — each of which went nowhere.

So the 2020 Louisiana School Librarian of the Year and 2021 School Library Journal Co-Librarian of the Year decided to do something more — sue her harassers for defamation. Requesting damages of just $1, she wanted to set an example for the students who look to her to combat bullies, and for the librarians across the country facing similar challenges.

“I was raised to speak out, love thy neighbor,” she said. “I’m just doing what I was raised to do.”

“That Librarian,” her new book released in August, is part memoir and part manifesto on the front lines of America’s latest culture war. As she maps the book banning crises occurring across the country, she calls on book lovers to fight for intellectual freedom — a right fundamental to everyone’s freedom of speech.

As she studies book bans and court cases, she notices a few trends. Since book bans started in states like Texas, Florida and Louisiana, she said book censorship has spread to all 50 states in some way or another.

But now, in some of the states that were first to initiate the discussion, the pendulum is swinging back as others realize the mistruths they were fed — like the idea that librarians were putting pornography on children’s book shelves."

American Library Association president Cindy Hohl on why book bans are hard to stop; NPR, WAMU, October 11, 2024

 NPR, WAMU; American Library Association president Cindy Hohl on why book bans are hard to stop

"Cindy Hohl, the current president of the American Library Association, says the political temperature surrounding book bans has remained at a boiling point. Over the last year of her tenure, Hohl has witnessed librarians exit the profession due to increased stress, ridicule and public pressure to remove certain titles from their libraries–particularly those related to race and LGBTQ+ identity. Although these battles are particularly pronounced in hot spots like Florida and Texas, they're being fought in communities all over the country. In today's episode, NPR's Andrew Limbong speaks with Hohl about what librarians can and can't do to push back against this cycle of censorship and what it's like to lead through times of crisis."

How Book Bans Happen Under the Radar; The New York Times, October 8, 2024

Elizabeth Harris, Farah Otero-Amad, Karen Hanley, Claire Hogan, Laura Salaberry and Gabriel Blanco , The New York Times; How Book Bans Happen Under the Radar

"Thousands of books have been publicly challenged and removed from libraries in the past couple of years. Elizabeth Harris, who covers books and the publishing industry for The New York Times, explains how books are being pulled from libraries in a quiet process called weeding. Weeding normally allows librarians to keep collections current, but some lawsuits argue that it has been used instead to remove books for content about racism, sexuality and gender."