Author Archive: Hannah Weinberg

Collage of government directives and MLIS acting director Keith Sonderling

100 Days into the Trump Administration

By Hannah Weinberg | April 30, 2025

In response, the American Library Association (ALA), along with the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration. On April 30, a federal court hearing will rule on ALA’s motion for a preliminary injunction to stop the further dismantling of IMLS. Meanwhile, censorship attempts persist, IMLS staffers … Continue reading 100 Days into the Trump Administration →

Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Libraries

By Hannah Weinberg | March 19, 2025

While the legality of many of these actions is still being decided by the courts, librarians, archivists, and other information professionals have been working through the confusion to preserve access to information. Below are several examples of the challenges libraries have faced over the past two months and the ways in which librarians and advocates have … Continue reading Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Libraries →

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On May 19, Teresa “Teri” Anderson became executive director of the Association of College and Research Libraries, one of the largest ALA divisions. Before joining ALA, Anderson spent more than three decades at ASIS International, a professional organization for security management professionals. She held several positions at the organization, most recently serving as vice president of innovation and outreach, a role in which she provided subject matter expertise and liaised with partners across the security industry. Anderson is a certified association executive through the American Society of Association Executives. She answered our 11 Questions to introduce herself to ALA members.

AL: The Scoop, May 27
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Rachel Milburn writes: “Teen advisory boards (TABs) are an excellent resource for libraries. TABs are the perfect group to promote a library’s young adult collection. What better way to do this than through social media? Plano (Tex.) Public Library regularly includes our TAB in social media posts to promote all sorts of things, including our collections. Our teens (and their caregivers) sign photo release forms, which allows us to include them in our online presence. Here are a few easy ways to incorporate your library’s TAB in social media posts.”

Young Adult Library Services Association: The Hub, May 23
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Kwame Alexander writes: After the firings of Carla Hayden and Shira Perlmutter from the Library of Congress, “It feels urgent for us, as citizens, to gather and plan together how to respond to this attack on our freedom to read, write, and learn. We are bringing together some smart folks, including Jason Reynolds, Ibram X. Kendi, Meg Medina, Amanda Jones, and Tracie D. Hall, to speak out about what intellectual freedom means to us and form an action plan to stand up for these freedoms.” The rally will be held May 31 at DC Public Library’s Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library at 5 p.m. Eastern and livestreamed for those not able to attend in person.

Kwamealexander.com; DC Public Library
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Danielle Melia, Lauren Kawasaki and Reshma Seth write: “George A. Jackson Elementary School’s library wants to provide a dynamic and inclusive learning environment. That makes podcasting a perfect fit. It gives students a platform to express their creativity, explore new ideas, and collaborate with peers while learning real-world skills. Our podcast project started as a collaboration between librarian Danielle Melia and coteachers Lauren Kawasaki and Reshma Seth. We wanted our 4th-graders to work in pairs to create an episode related to our unit on natural hazards. Students developed episodes to answer thought-provoking questions.”

American Libraries Trend, May
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Cinzi Lavin writes: “In the summer of 2023, a controversial book—Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe—was removed from the shelves of the small Connecticut library where I worked as a part-time paraprofessional. The removal was done in transgression of the library board’s book reconsideration policy. Our small staff was upset and bewildered. As the granddaughter of Europeans who fled to the US to escape fascism just before World War II, I found that the fight against this injustice in our library became very personal. I offer the following considerations to other small libraries facing similar challenges.”

American Libraries column, May
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Rosie Newmark writes: “While creating one of their in-house brews, employees at Johnson City (Tenn.) Brewing Company brought in some unexpected assistants to pour barley into the batch: library staffers. The pre-Prohibition-style lager they crafted together was called 1895, a nod to the founding year of Johnson City Public Library, located just a few blocks from the brewery’s downtown taproom. The partnership marks a growing trend of libraries working with local brewers to create signature drinks for fundraising and awareness campaigns that expand the library’s visibility to younger adult crowds.”

American Libraries Trend, May
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On May 20, the Trump administration filed a status report describing its compliance with a federal judge’s preliminary injunction in Rhode Island v. Trump, which ordered the administration to restore terminated Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) staff and grants to recipients in 21 plaintiff states. However, the Administration has filed an appeal and requested a stay of the order. ALA has filed its own, nationwide challenge to the elimination of IMLS, ALA v. Sonderling. A temporary restraining order on May 1 halted further actions to dismantle the agency, and a ruling on ALA’s request for a preliminary injunction is expected by May 29.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, May 21; AL: The Scoop, May 2

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