In The News

The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending April 24, 2026

Among the week's headlines: by a 99-0 margin, Illinois sends its library ebook bill to the senate; the Authors Guild honors Carla Hayden; the 11th Circuit hears a key Florida book banning case; Utah bans more books; and the Brooklyn Public Library releases a superb America250 reading list.

Illinois Library Ebook Law Moves to the Senate

Just after we went to press last week, news broke that the Illinois House of Representatives unanimously passed the state's library ebook law, H.B. 5236, 99-0. The bill now heads to the state senate, where, as of this writing, it is awaiting a committee assignment.

The Illinois law is the latest in a wave of state-level legislation that seeks to bring change to a digital marketplace that librarians have long said is unsustainable due largely to the high, non-negotiable prices and restrictive terms dictated by a handful of large corporate publishers.

IL - HB5236

DIGITAL LIBRARY PROTECTION ACT

BillTrack50

"The bill, which passed the Illinois House without opposition last week, would prevent publishers from charging libraries more than the public for the same item or imposing checkout limits on temporary licenses. Publishers would also be prohibited from restricting interlibrary loans or limiting the number of e-book or audiobook licenses a library could purchase," reported the Chicago Tribune this week. "More and more taxpayer-funded library budgets are being eaten up by this licensing at unreasonably high prices," Monica Harris, executive director of the Reaching Across Illinois Library System (RAILS), told reporters, pointing out that libraries "are now spending almost 50% of their collection budgets on ebooks and digital audiobooks.”

In a joint statement sent to reporters, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers "denounced" the bill, calling it "a backdoor attempt to infringe on the rights of authors and creators across creative mediums and limit their ability to earn a living from their craft," and warned that, if passed, some publishers would pull back from the digital library market.

As Words & Money recently reported, a growing number of states have introduced library ebook bills, with mixed results thus far. Bills in Minnesota, Hawaii, and Rhode Island have been tabled for now. Connecticut, meanwhile, became the first state to enact a library ebook law last year. Connecticut's law, however, contains a "trigger" clause that delays its effective date until another state (or states) with a total population of seven million enacts similar legislation. The bill in Illinois, with a population of well over 12 million, would trigger Connecticut's law. Bills in New Jersey (S1674) and in Washington, D.C. (DC B26-0490) are among those currently still live in committee.

While the current wave of state-level library ebook laws expressly regulate libraries (not publishers) and have been retooled to avoid the copyright conflict that led to a federal court striking down Maryland's library ebook bill in 2022, publisher and author groups continue to argue that the new laws are preempted by federal copyright law—which, while questionable on the facts, appears to be a somewhat effective lobbying strategy in persuading several legislatures to hold their library ebook bills for further study.

Latest Entry in 'Digital Shelf' Webinar Series to Focus on Managing Digital Holds

The latest entry in the excellent Digital Shelf Publishing & Library Forum webinar series will focus on how to incentivize "fair digital content licensing" through "strategic holds ratios." The webinar series, which launched last December, is a collaboration between Lyrasis, ReadersFirst, and the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies (COSLA). You can register for this free webinar here.

"In an era of rising costs and restrictive licensing, libraries must move beyond being passive consumers of digital content," the event description reads. "This webinar explores how libraries can leverage 'the power of the purse' to reshape the digital lending landscape," and will feature an array of selectors "who will dive into tactical collection development strategies that maximize patron access to titles with limited collection budgets and reward the publishers who support that access with fair-minded terms."

Authors Guild Honors Carla Hayden

The Authors Guild Foundation held its annual gala on April 20, and among the honorees was former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden. Hayden accepted the "Champion of Writers Award" on behalf of "librarians and library workers everywhere, who open their doors each day," the AG writes. "Libraries, she reminded the audience, 'are where a child discovers a first favorite book, where a new American finds language and belonging, where a researcher uncovers hidden history, and where communities see themselves reflected in the pages of literature.'"

The Associated Press reports that Hayden was cheered upon receiving her honor.

"Nearly a year since she was abruptly fired by President Donald Trump as Librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden stood before hundreds of cheering members of the literary community as she received a Champion of Writers Award from the Authors Guild on Monday," the AP states. "Hayden, the first woman and first Black person to be appointed Librarian of Congress, didn’t refer to Trump or her ouster during her brief remarks. But her speech was an implicit rebuttal to Trump’s attacks against what he calls 'woke' culture that have been directed at her and at such cultural institutions as the Kennedy Center and the Smithsonian Institution."

Eleventh Circuit Hears Appeal of Publisher-led Lawsuit Over Florida Book Banning Law H.B. 1069

This is paywalled, but Law360 has a good recap of this week's oral argument in Florida's appeal of Judge Carlos E. Mendoza's August 2025 decision blunting the book-banning provision of Florida state law H.B. 1069. If you have an hour to spare, you can listen to the full oral argument before the Eleventh Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals here.

Make no mistake, this case holds massive implications for the freedom to read. The hearing comes after two setbacks in the appeals courts: nearly a year after the Fifth Circuit's stunning decision in Little v. Llano County, and just two weeks after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit vacated an injunction blocking Iowa's book banning law S.F. 496.

Despite some halting questions from the judges for both sides, the 11th Circuit panel did appear skeptical of the state's case, at one point probing their "government speech" argument: "Would it be constitutionally acceptable if the state of California passed a law stating school libraries could only offer books that presented messages against oil companies and in favor of the environment?" Judge Britt Grant, a Trump appointee, asked. "What if the rule instead was that you could only have books or pamphlets related to how incredible the Newsom administration has been?"

Responding for the state, attorney Jason Muehlhoff said such policies would probably face "a backlash from the population," but weren't "a constitutional concern." Rather, he suggested, such decisions were "up to people at the ballot box."

For National Library Week, Librarians Recognized for Defending the Freedom to Read

The 19th has a good National Library Week piece on what librarians have endured over the last five years of escalating attacks on the freedom to read. "Sarah DeMaria still remembers how close she came to resigning from her role as a school librarian. It was the summer of 2023, and after a year of vicious personal attacks, politically motivated book challenges, and police reports to flag so-called pornographic content in the library, DeMaria had had enough," the article states. "But then she thought about her students: 'If I left, who was going to be their voice?' she wondered."

Utah Bans More Books Under New State law

The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the list of titles prohibited in Utah public schools has risen to 32 under a 2024 state law that requires a book be removed from all public schools in the state if at least three school districts determine it contains "sensitive" material. "Nobel Prize winner Toni Morrison is among the latest authors whose books have been banned from Utah public schools," the report notes. "The books added to the list are: The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison; Life is Funny by E.R. Frank; The Haters by Jesse Andrews; and People Kill People by Ellen Hopkins.

North Carolina State Legislators Introduce Bill to Ban Books from Elementary School Libraries

Local affiliate WECT reports that two GOP state legislators have filed a bill in the North Carolina House of Representatives that would remove books with gender-related or sexual content from elementary school libraries across the state. House Bill 1043, filed Thursday, "builds on the Parents Bill of Rights, which passed the General Assembly in 2023, and specified 'Instruction on gender identity, sexual activity, or sexuality' shall not be included in the curriculum provided in grades kindergarten through fourth grade," the outlet reports. "It also allows a parent to bring civil actions against a public school found to be in violation of the new rule, and collect damages of $5,000.”

In Washington State, Library Board Member Reveals Threats

The Olympian reports that a member of the Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees in Washington state this week detailed threats that have been made against Trustees. Thurston County Trustee Mary Beth Harrington revealed at a meeting this week that some trustees have been verbally abused, stalked, and doxed. “Some of us have been encouraged online to kill ourselves,” Harrington said, while adding that “we will not be bullied or blackmailed into making decisions that we feel are not in the best interest of Timberland Regional Library.”

After Firing Its Director, Tennessee Library Votes to Remove Freedom to Read Language from Its Library Policies

Here's an odd way to celebrate National Right to Read Day: The Murfreesboro Post reports that the Rutherford County Library System Board—the same board that recently fired its director, Luanne Jones, over her refusal to move books deemed inappropriate by the board—voted 8-3 to "remove language from four of its policies that referenced the American Library Association’s 'Freedom to Read Statement' at its meeting on April 20." Chairman Cody York told reporters that some of the ALA’s statements may "go against local, state or federal laws."

Librarians, Board Members, Face Retaliation for Defending Diversity in Libraries

LGBTQ Nation has a good piece on how public officials have been targeted in recent years for their refusal to ban LGBTQ+ books. "In December 2025–shortly after North Carolina’s Asheboro Public Library board voted to keep Call Me Max, a children’s picture book about a transgender boy, on its shelves–the Randolph County Board of Commissioners dismissed eight out of nine library trustees without giving a reason. Betty Jo Armfield, one of the dismissed, was shocked," the report notes. "For Armfield, what stung most was not just the dismissal itself, but what it signaled about the future."

Russian Publisher Detained Over LGBTQ+ 'Extremism'

From the Moscow Times, a sobering reminder of where all this book banning zealotry ultimately leads: Yevgeny Kapyev, head of Russian publishing giant Eksmo, has reportedly been detained amid an investigation into LGBTQ+ "extremism."

Law enforcement sources told the Kommersant newspaper that "officials are considering pressing charges of organizing the activities of an 'extremist' group, a designation Russia’s Supreme Court applied to the so-called 'international LGBT movement' in late 2023," the Times reports. "The Supreme Court’s 2023 ruling effectively criminalized all public advocacy or displays of LGBTQ+ lifestyles, leading to a wave of arrests, shuttered businesses and the removal of hundreds of titles from Russian bookstores and libraries."

Catching Up on the Freedom to Read

Over at Book Riot, Kelly Jensen leads off her weekly censorship news column with one of her regular roundups of past posts. Always a good reminder not only of some important topics to brush up on, but of the good work Jensen does.

Schools, Libraries Oppose the Latest Bad Idea from the Trump FCC

Via State Scoop, some 80 groups "representing schools and libraries" are opposing a Federal Communications Commission plan to create "an online bidding portal" for its E-Rate broadband program. In a letter, the groups argue that "the portal would be 'overly burdensome' for schools, libraries, and ISPs, and that it would likely undermine the FCC’s other work to streamline the E-Rate program," the report states.

And Finally This Week...

The Brooklyn Public Library this week released 250 for 250, "a handpicked, librarian-curated" list of the 250 most notable books from 250 years of American history timed for the America250 celebrations. And it's a remarkable list.

"These are the books that we believe have influenced this country and contributed to where we are today. As librarians, we know that it's not just about the books themselves, but rather what they represent—a wide variety of American perspectives and voices sharing the stories of our streets, neighborhoods, and nation as a whole," said Librarian Jess Harwick, who coordinated the selection committee. You can explore the complete list here.