Libraries, Front and Center
Help us build and strengthen Words & Money with a premium subscription. For just $45 annually you can support a new media venture that aims to properly center libraries in the 21st Century reading and writing enterprise.
Latest
The Words & Money Weekly Newsletter for the Week Ending June 27, 2025
The 2025 ALA Annual Conference is underway, and as has become something of a tradition, the Supreme Court has weighed in with two major decisions that will impact libraries. In a bit of good news, after nearly two years of searching the ALA has found its new executive director. In
Supreme Court Delivers Two Major Decisions Impacting Libraries
the Supreme Court delivered two major rulings on June 27, one negatively impacting the freedom to read, and one saving the popular E-rate program.
The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending June 27
Among the week's headlines: two key fair use decisions roil the AI landscape; A major Supreme Court decision threatens the freedom to read; Texas signs its controversial school library bill into law; and the Library of Congress faces a budget cut.
As Annual Conference Kicks Off, ALA Announces New Executive Director
Daniel J. Montgomery, currently President of the Illinois Federation of Teachers, will take the helm at ALA this fall.
Lyrasis to Take Over Library Ebook Platform, The Palace Project, from Digital Public Library of America
Some five years after it was chartered, the Palace Project will now be solely owned and operated by Lyrasis.
The Words & Money Weekly Newsletter for the Week Ending June 20, 2025
As the library world prepares to converge on Philadelphia for the 2025 American Library Association Annual Conference, challenges abound. But this week, librarians got a little backup from the Government Accounting Office, which released a report concluding that, yes, the Trump Administration's withholding of IMLS funding is illegal.
The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending June 20, 2025
Among the week's headlines: Escambia County votes to allow book bans without review; a chilling report on the freedom to read in Utah; two more 'Freedom to Read' bills advance; and BookCon returns!
Judge Schedules Next Steps in the ALA’s IMLS Case
In a filing this week, Trump administration lawyers said they would move to have the ALA's lawsuit to save the IMLS dismissed.
GAO Declares Trump's Withholding of IMLS Funds to Be Illegal
The Constitution grants the President "no unilateral authority to withhold funds from obligation," concludes the independent, nonpartisan watchdog.
The Words & Money Weekly Newsletter for the Week Ending June 13, 2025
After two legal victories in May, library advocates were feeling better about their chances of saving the Institute of Museum and Library Services from a Trump executive order. But after a federal judge in Washington D.C. backtracked on issuing an injunction and with an appeal seeking a stay of
The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending June 13, 2025
Among the week's headlines: Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden to speak at ALA 2025; Oregon passes its 'Freedom to Read' bill; AI developers are turning to libraries for training data; and how a new media specialist has supercharged reading at a Wisconsin school.
With Appeals Court Considering a Stay in Rhode Island Case, the IMLS Is Once Again Facing Uncertainty
Can DOJ lawyers sow enough uncertainty to keep the courts at bay until the destruction of the IMLS is complete? An appeal before the First Circuit to stay a Rhode Island court's IMLS injunction will be a major test.
Minnesota School District Settles Lawsuits, Agrees to Return Banned Books to School Library Shelves
Under the agreement, the St. Francis Area School District will replace a controversial policy that tied book selection to reviews on a conservative website with a policy that "guarantees the input of the parents and qualified media specialists," and "follows state law."
The Words & Money Weekly Newsletter for the Week Ending June 6, 2025
In a sharp about face, a federal judge in Washington D.C. has denied the ALA's bid for a preliminary injunction to block the Trump Administration's efforts to dismantle the IMLS. The decision comes after a federal judge in Rhode Island decided he will not stay
In About Face, Judge Denies ALA's Bid to Block IMLS Destruction
In a blow to the library community, judge Richard J. Leon noted that both “the facts and the law” in the case are in flux and held that the ALA could therefore not make a showing that it was likely to prevail on the merits.