The Queue: Library News for the Week Ending September 11, 2026
Among the headlines this week: library advocates respond to the publishing industry's 'flawed' library ebook study; A new poll shows strong support for public libraries; Clarivate releases its 'Pulse of the Library' Report; and 'The Librarians' wins an Emmy.
Library Advocates Respond to Publishing Industry's 'Flawed' Library Ebook Study: "Alternative Reality"
In a September 11 statement, library advocates this week are formally pushing back on an economic study commissioned by publishing industry lobbyists that seeks to blunt momentum for library ebook legislation.
"The AAP’s industry-funded study attempts to blame public libraries for declining retail sales by relying on fundamentally broken data," reads a post announcing the seven-page rebuttal on the Ebook Study Group Substack. "Our coalition dismantles their flawed economics, defends state-level fair procurement legislation, and highlights how exorbitant e-book markups harm taxpayers, independent presses, and library patrons alike."
Kyle K. Courtney
The statement is signed by the eBook Study Group, ReadersFirst, Authors Alliance, SPARC, and the Rhode Island Library Association.
Commissioned by the Association of American Publishers and the Authors Guild, the September 1 study, carried out by Washington D.C.-based litigation consultant Secretariat, suggests that the rise of library ebook lending is harming publishers' retail sales, and argues that there is no "market failure" that would justify library ebook legislation.
Andrew Richard Albanese
As Words & Money reported last week, multiple library advocates have dismissed the study as a lobbying document, while also pointing out what they say are critical flaws in its data and methodology. In their statement this week, library advocates elaborate on the study's "catastrophic" flaws, as well as its "mischaracterizations" of the library ebook marketplace, and the ebook legislative efforts now underway.
Among the key takeaways, the statement points out that the study conveniently ignores how independent publishers are working well with libraries in the digital marketplace, arguing that the issue in the digital library market isn't about anti-copyright librarians or overreaching state mandates, as the AAP and the Authors Guild suggest, but about equity and fair competition for public dollars—issues that not only impact libraries and readers, the statement points out, but also rank-and-file AAP and Authors Guild members.
"When library budgets are consumed by exorbitant costs and rapidly expiring metered licenses for a handful of bestsellers, there is no money left to acquire midlist titles or debut authors," the statement explains. "If licensing terms were fair, libraries would not spend less money overall. That same public revenue would simply be distributed more equitably across a much wider range of titles, directly benefiting new and diverse voices rather than exclusively padding the profits of the largest industry players."
On Library Ebooks, the Authors Guild Newsletter Has Some Suggestions
Michael Seidlinger
In its newsletter today, the Authors Guild, which co-sponsored the Secretariat Report on Library Ebook Lending, features a release (dated September 1) that attempts to clarify their stance on library ebook lending and offers some, well, eye-opening suggestions.
"We at the Authors Guild have felt stuck between those arguing that library lending overall drives sales and others who argue that it replaces sales," the Guild release notes, suggesting that the study was "undertaken to uncover actual data to help direct conversations on the issue." That, however, is a little hard to believe. Hiring a DC litigation consultant with the AAP doesn't exactly reflect an objective attempt to learn more about the marketplace.
Furthermore, the release suggests that "the industry" should consider differential pricing that would allow books "suffering from flagging sales" to be "purchased by libraries at or near consumer prices with few licensing restrictions," while "bestsellers and other popular books at risk of substitution upon release could be 'windowed' to preserve commercial value or have higher priced licensing tiers with more restrictions on checkouts."
And then there's this: "OverDrive is used by roughly 90% of public libraries in North America for digital lending. It has been owned since 2020 by KKR, a private equity firm, and it takes 50% off the top of any library licenses," the release states, questioning whether "the essential infrastructure of digital public lending should be a private-equity-owned, for-profit monopoly at all."
Another idea in the release: "a public digital infrastructure of library lending possibly overseen by the Library of Congress or the American Library Association (ALA)."
New Poll: Americans Value their Public Libraries
Ashley Simon Ashley Simon
Here's a headline librarians and library supporters will be happy to see. A poll released this week by the Knight Foundation shows that Americans continue to value their public libraries.
"Public libraries have long been understood to be among the most trusted institutions in America," reads a post on the Knight Foundation website, announcing the results. "A majority of adults in the United States–across every age, race, party affiliation and income group measured–view their local public library as an essential public service."
Among the survey's findings, 93% of adults overall said they view libraries as "an essential or valuable public service," and only 6% said the library is neither valuable nor essential. And despite "an abundance of free information" now available online, 81% of respondents cited "the value of libraries giving people access to books, media and information."
Furthermore, some 62% of adults said their local public library "is extremely or very valuable to their community," with 57% saying the library was valuable to them personally, "regardless of how often they visit." The vast majority (93%) said that budget cuts to their local public library would have an impact on their community, although 47% said the impact would be minor, while 45% said the impact of budget cuts would be major.
The survey, conducted between May 14–18, 2026, by NORC at the University of Chicago, is based on responses from 1,047 adults via web and telephone in English and Spanish, with an overall margin of sampling error of "+/-3.9."
The Knight Survey comes as libraries around the country grapple with potential cuts amid inflation and rising costs, and as local property taxes, which account for a substantial portion of library funding in many communities, have come under attack in several states, including Florida, where voters will decide this fall on a referendum that could deeply slash or eliminate property taxes across the state. Knight officials said the survey was fielded to "help close a gap in understanding: not just whether people trust libraries, but whether they see them as a valued public service in their community."
Freckle Report 2026: Can a Renewed Focus on Print Reverse a Decline in Usage Stats?
The EveryLibrary Institute this week released a video detailing the 2026 Freckle Report, a presentation by U.K.-based library advocate Tim Coates based on the most recent IMLS data (which covers 2024). In the presentation, Coates reiterates his (somewhat controversial) argument, which he made with the first Freckle Report in 2019, that American libraries must return to focusing on their print collections and their buildings if they are to reverse a 15-year decline in circulation and library visits.
In July, Words & Money shared Coates's initial take on the most recent IMLS data, which covers 2024. Meanwhile, unlike past years, there is no written component to the Freckle report; this presentation is basically it. For more, see our Q&A with Coates here.
Columbus Public Library: Reading Isn't Dead Yet
Lauren Hagan, The Columbus Dispatch
The Columbus Dispatch this week features an editorial from Lauren Hagan, CEO of Columbus Metropolitan Library in Columbus, Ohio, in which she highlights the importance of libraries in creating readers, whatever the technology.
"At Columbus Metropolitan Library, we continue to see that people want stories. They want an opportunity to learn, no matter their age. Parents bring little ones to Storytime, more than 42,000 Columbus City Schools students have library access through their student ID, which opens the door to books after the bell rings, and adults download audiobooks for everyday life,” Hagan writes. “Technology will change, and so will our consumption of it. Print books, ebooks, and audiobooks all play a role. The future of reading will not be decided by technology alone, but by communities willing to invest in the institutions that make literacy possible.”
Libraries and 'The Price of Access'
Ashlie D. Stevens
Over at Salon, this essay reflects on the Chicago Public Library’s checkout receipts, which, like many libraries, show how much readers "save" by using the library. “One afternoon I came home with Magic Is Dead: My Journey Into the World’s Most Secretive Society of Magicians, Village School and Cold Comfort Farm, a stack suggesting either eclectic tastes or a person throwing darts at a bookshelf,” writes Ashlie D. Stevens. “Then, underneath the administrative business, came a little piece of information I had somehow never noticed before: You just saved $58.94 by using your library. You have saved $231.79 this past year and $1,107.24 since you began using the library!”
Stevens goes on to write she then became “obsessed” with getting her total savings number up. “A stack of books about sourdough: another $33. Year-to-date savings: $454.68. Lifetime savings: $1,330.13,” she writes. “Obviously, I had not literally saved $1,330.13. Without a library, I would not have purchased every cookbook, obscure DVD and book about secretive magicians that caught my eye. But the number was doing something more interesting than keeping track of imaginary thrift. It was giving a price to access.”
Smithsonian Secretary to Retire after Trump Administration Clashes
Kimberlé Crenshaw and Jason Stanley
In a statement this week, Lonnie G. Bunch III announced his retirement after seven years as the 14th Secretary of the Smithsonian. The move comes after Bunch has resisted attacks by the Trump Administration over the institution's work, which, as Words & Money has reported, the Trump administration has attempted to whitewash. “I leave with pride and sadness, gratitude and joy, and with enormous confidence in the people who will carry this remarkable institution forward.”
Over at the Guardian, Kimberlé Crenshaw and Jason Stanley have an excellent take on the administration's attacks and the loss of Bunch, the first African American and first historian to lead the institution. "The administration’s attack on the Smithsonian is far more than a conflict over imbalance. It is an effort to weaponize history to undercut the very terms of our democratic existence," they write. "It should worry us all that the educational goals of fascism so clearly overlap with the agenda of the Trump administration. It should worry us all that the accusation of 'indoctrination' is so readily deployed against a more inclusive American story, and that this is not immediately seen for what it is: a force-fed and blinkered vision of how we’ve come to be, the only terms available to be a true American."
Clarivate Releases 2026 'Pulse of the Library' Report
This is interesting reading. Clarivate’s Pulse of the Library 2026 report, which "draws on insights from more than 1,800 librarians globally, representing academic, public, and national libraries," was released this week, with AI once again a key issue. "The picture has shifted since 2025, when the data showed a sector at the start of its AI journey. This year’s findings reveal a growing divergence: some libraries are deepening their engagement with AI, while others still remain cautious and at the earlier stages of implementation," the report notes.
For public libraries, "community engagement and social services" remain the leading priority, while "frontline strain continues, with librarians reporting being stretched thin on capacity, absorbing responsibilities beyond their traditional remit, and being asked to do more with less," the executive summary notes. In addition, "advocacy and communicating the value of the library is now one of the single largest areas of expected role growth."
More on How Florida's Proposal to Slash Property Taxes Could Impact Libraries
Rachel Flynn
Via local affiliate WJHG, Sarah Burris, the president of Friends of the Bay County Public Libraries, tells reporters that the pending ballot initiative on property taxes in Florida, known as Amendment 3, is already impacting budgets. "Even before ballots are cast, the Bay County Public Library will lose 40% of its book funds, Burris said," telling reporters that the library is facing an $86,000 cut, and that is "just in preparation for if it does pass.” If the measure does pass, the library will lose significant funding. "Burris also said that there’s no alternate funding source for public libraries, which could be detrimental to libraries across the state."
The Librarians that Are Suing, and Winning Settlements, After Being Fired for Defending the Freedom to Read
Kelly Jensen
Over at Book Riot, Kelly Jensen leads off her weekly censorship news column with a look at some of the librarians who have sued and won settlements for wrongful termination after standing up against censorship efforts. "None of them won much money, but in none of the cases was the money the point. No quarter of a million dollar settlement is enough to undo the damage of being fired, of being publicly dragged, of losing one’s income and health insurance, or of seeing one’s reputation be tarnished for upholding their ethical obligation to the field of librarianship," Jensen writes. "But every single one of these settlements is a significant win right now."
'The Librarians' Documentary Wins an Emmy
Phil Morehart
I Love Libraries has a nice post and some amazing pictures celebrating the news that The Librarians, "Kim Snyder’s documentary about public and school librarians in Texas, Florida, and other states who unite to combat book banning" has won a 2026 Emmy for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking.
“We are proud to stand in solidarity with all our courageous librarians, true heroes, and so many others across the nation who continue to fight to defend our First Amendment rights and our Freedom to Read,” Snyder wrote in a social media post. “This award is such an honor—and it honors them all.”
And Finally This Week...
Jim Milliot |
Publishers Weekly has a nice obituary this week for a name most of you won't know. But he was a giant. Fred Ciporen, former publisher of Library Journal and School Library Journal and later of Publishers Weekly, died on September 4 at the age of 87.
"As publisher of LJ and SLJ, Ciporen became a leading advocate for increased funding for libraries and the two publications, which had been struggling, enjoyed steady growth under his leadership," writes my friend and longtime editor, Jim Milliot. "Nora Rawlinson, who served as editor-in-chief of LJ and later PW under Ciporen, remembered Ciporen for not only his salesmanship but also for the way he shaped the magazines’ coverage while also prioritizing their editorial integrity."
This one is personal for me, so I thank you for your indulgence. Ciporen was enormously influential on my career. Some 26 years ago, I was just starting out at Library Journal when Fred called me into his corner office on 17th Street in New York. I was a new hire he didn't know at all. I didn't know what he wanted. But in his trademark professorial style, he simply wanted to talk about an article I had just published, spending 45 minutes at least (time I am sure he did not have in his schedule) because he genuinely wanted to understand the issues in the piece. It was an inspiration.
After that, we shared many conversations about the business, and books, and history, and not because this was our business, but because he truly cared about all of it.
That this news comes on the 25th anniversary of 9/11 is somewhat fitting. It was Ciporen who led a shaken LJ/PW staff in New York City through those dark times, with enormous empathy and compassion. Rest in peace, Fred Ciporen.
