In The News

Judge Rejects 'Government Speech' Argument in DoD Book Banning Case

Despite the government's arguments to the contrary, DoDEA school libraries “lack the quintessential elements of government speech,” judge Patricia Giles held, explaining that public school libraries “have historically been loci of intellectual freedom.”

ALA Announces Longlist for Andrew Carnegie Medals

Next up, a six-title shortlist—three each for the fiction and nonfiction medals—will be announced on November 18, 2025. The two medal winners will then be announced on Tuesday, January 27, 2026.

Court Permanently Blocks Texas 'Book Rating' Law

The controversial 2023 law was viewed by many as the most high profile of a wave of book banning laws at the state level, and would have required book vendors, as a condition of doing business with Texas public schools, to review books for sexual content.

The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending October 24, 2025

The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending October 17, 2025

Deborah Caldwell-Stone, ALA's Stalwart Freedom to Read Advocate, Let Go in Cost Cutting Move

Caldwell-Stone's departure was part of a broader wave of job cuts announced this week as the ALA grapples with a financial shortfall and moves ahead with a recently adopted plan to modernize the association.

ACLU of South Carolina Sues Over School Book Bans

ACLU reps say a newly enacted regulation has “sown chaos and confusion among school employees,” and prompted “a culture of fear among school librarians.”

The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending October 10, 2025

After Years of Financial Stress, Baker & Taylor Collapses

In a sudden end to what many saw as a slow-moving inevitability, the nearly 200 year-old company is ceasing operations after a foreclosure sale to ReaderLink fell through.

The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending October 3, 2025

PEN America Report Finds the Battle Over Book Bans Has Entered an Alarming New Phase

“For many students, families, educators, librarians, and school districts, book banning is a new normal,” the report, 'Banned in the USA 2024-2025: The Normalization of Book Banning,' concludes.

In a Setback for the Freedom to Read, Florida Court Finds 'No First Amendment Right to Receive Information' in Libraries

In an 18-page ruling, judge Allen Winsor stopped short of finding that library book selection is government speech, but agreed that Escambia County officials have unfettered power to ban books they disagree with.

The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending September 26, 2025

Judge Grants Preliminary Approval to Anthropic Settlement

While there may yet be issues to work out as the claims process begins, authors and industry groups are applauding the deal.

In New Filing, DOJ Defends Trump's Bid to Take Over the Library of Congress, and to Fire the Register of Copyrights

After a recent appeals court decision, Register of Copyrights Shira Perlmutter is back at work. But in a head-spinning September 22 motion for summary judgment, DOJ lawyers insist that, one way or another, her purported firing was legal.

The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending September 19, 2025