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GAO Report: Many Public Library Buildings in the U.S. Are in 'Poor' Condition
According to the December 18 report, an estimated 38% of the nation’s public libraries have at least one building system in poor condition, while an estimated 61% have at least one building system or feature that poses a potential health or safety concern.
In Conversation: Novelist Joe Mungo Reed
Words & Money catches up with the author, whose latest book, 'Terrestrial History,' has landed on several 'best of' lists from public libraries, and earned a place on the longlist for the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Fiction.
The Words & Money Weekly Newsletter: December 12, 2025
Thank you for supporting Words & Money, and helping us establish an independent media venture that aims to properly center libraries in the 21st century reading, writing, and publishing enterprises. If you're already a subscriber, thank you, and we encourage you to please share this newsletter with your
The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending December 12, 2025
In Conversation: Freedom to Read Advocate Leila Green Little
Words & Money talks with the lead plaintiff in Little v. Llano County about her four year fight against censorship.
Supreme Court Declines to Hear Key Texas Book Banning Case
The denial in 'Little v. Llano County' lets stand a controversial Fifth Circuit decision empowering local leaders in three states to remove books from public libraries at will, even for unconstitutional viewpoint discretion.
The Words & Money Weekly Newsletter: December 5, 2025
Thank you for supporting Words & Money, and helping us establish an independent media venture that aims to properly center libraries in the 21st century reading, writing, and publishing enterprises. If you're already a subscriber, thank you, and we encourage you to please share this newsletter with your
OverDrive Seeks Preliminary Injunction Blocking Open AI's Sora Trademark Infringement
Lawyers argue that the "toxic waste content" generated by Open AI's Sora video generation app is harming OverDrive, which owns the trademarks for Sora, a popular student-focused digital borrowing platform.
The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending December 5, 2025
Reed, Grijalva Reintroduce Federal 'Right to Read' Act
The lawmakers said the legislation would support "evidence-based reading instruction, well stocked and staffed school libraries, family literacy programs, a wide range of reading materials, and the freedom to choose what to read."
IMLS Says It Will Reinstate All Terminated Grants
The move comes after a federal judge in Rhode Island permanently blocked the Trump administration's efforts to shut down the agency via executive order.
With Gratitude...
A reminder that we won't be sending a weekly newsletter on Friday, November 28, the day after Thanksgiving, but that doesn't mean the news stops. This week we reported on a coalition of publishers, librarians, and advocates pushing back on a plan in Tennessee to review
In ALA Case, DOJ Continues the Fight to Dismantle the IMLS
In a parallel lawsuit filed by the American Library Association in Washington D.C., DOJ lawyers this week moved for summary judgment using the same arguments rejected last week by a federal judge in Rhode Island.
Publishers, Freedom to Read Advocates Sound Alarm on Tennessee Plan to Review Library Collections
Critics say the state's sweeping plan to audit library collections for appropriateness has created "widespread confusion, fear, and operational disruption across the state’s public libraries."
For Our Book Launch, We Ditched the Social Media. We Chose Public Libraries Instead.
'Heartland Masala' author Auyon Mukharji reflects on the role public libraries played in a fun and successful fall book tour.