Blog | American Libraries Magazine

Save Our E-Rate

Federal program that has made broadband and Wi‑Fi affordable for public libraries and schools is now in danger
By Maria McCauley | July 14, 2026
2026 Annual Conference Wrap-Up

Thousands of library workers convene in the Windy City as ALA celebrates 150 years
By Sallyann Price | July 14, 2026
A New Threat to E-Rate

FCC has inquired if the program should be limited or sunset
June 16, 2026
2026 Annual Conference Preview

Chicago | June 25–29
By Sallyann Price | June 1, 2026
City of Big Appetites

Celebrate ALA’s big year with this robust list of Chicago eateries
By Jennifer Billock | June 1, 2026
Encountering ICE

Public library directors share tips for dealing with federal immigration activity
June 1, 2026
5 Questions to Ask Your Vendors about AI

Cut through the hype and get real answers about artificial intelligence products
By Elizabeth Szkirpan | June 1, 2026
2026 Library Systems Briefing

Tech companies stay competitive with emerging platforms
By Marshall Breeding | June 1, 2026
The Gnome Depot

Fairy house workshops combine nature, enchantment … and a bit of moss
By Karen Lindell | June 1, 2026
Newsmaker: Megha Majumdar

Award-winning author on how libraries and reading affirm humanity
By Donna Seaman | June 1, 2026
By the Numbers: Pride

Stats that celebrate LGBTQ+ history, culture, and community
By Megan Bennett | June 1, 2026
Fighting Words

Coping with the abusive language of library critics
By Darcy Lipp-Acord | June 1, 2026

Latest Library Links

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Comic-Con International announced the winners of the 38th annual Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards July 24. Topping this year’s winners is Absolute Martian Manhunter (DC) by Deniz Camp and Javier Rodriguez, which won Best Limited Series and Best Penciller/Inker and shared the prizes for Best Cover Artist (Rodriguez) and Best Lettering for Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou. The only other title with multiple wins was This Place Kills Me (Abrams Fanfare), by Mariko Tamaki and Nicole Goux, which received awards for Best Publication for Teens and Best Writer.

San Diego Comic-Con International, July 24
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Slone Williams writes: “In April 2025, I presented a proposal to the Cobb (Ga.) Library Foundation to turn library brand loyalty into a sustainable funding mechanism. The result was the Cobb Library Shop, a permanent, virtual storefront designed to move beyond traditional fundraising and into the realm of modern e-commerce. Today, the shop features over 100 products with price ranges designed for broad community accessibility, maintaining a profit margin of 20% to 60% depending on the item. The shop achieved a full return on investment within the first 14 days. Every dollar earned in net revenue flows directly back into the community.”

Georgia Library Quarterly, vol. 63, no. 3, Summer
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Larissa Kennedy writes: “Closures? Canceled. Reduced opening hours? Backtracked. £500,000 in job cuts? Blocked. These are the concrete wins of the Save Newham (England) Libraries campaign. Yes, there were petitions, banner-making workshops and town halls—hallmarks of countless campaigns. But what I’m truly interested in lies beneath that. The Newham community met the perfect storm of cuts and elections with their own cocktail of classic campaign techniques and novel ways to tap into shared memory, creativity, and duality.”

Shado, July 22
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Peter Derk writes: “If you haven’t already, I can just about guarantee you that you’ll get an offer to add an artificial intelligence (AI) assistant to your website or catalog within the next couple years. I’m begging you to not utilize one. The person trying to sell you on the AI assistant is going to tell you that 90% of the calls, emails, and messages you get are very simple. But while 90% of your questions might be simple, that doesn’t mean they will be adequately answered by the AI assistant.”
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Trevor A. Dawes writes: “One of the great achievements of academic libraries over the past two decades has been making access to information feel effortless. The challenge with seamlessness, though, is that it can shade into invisibility. Invisibility has consequences. When budget conversations happen, the loudest voices in the room tend to belong to those who have most recently felt a loss, not those who have been benefiting all along without quite noticing.”

Trevor A. Dawes, July 28
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David Lankes writes: “We are living in the early stages of an information shock caused by generative artificial intelligence (AI). Information shocks are rare, but historically transformative. We are currently living in the result of the last one at the end of World War II, when the sheer amount of information in the form of scientific and research data exploded, enabled by the introduction of the digital computer. One key result of such disruptions is the redefinition in the identity of what we now call information science and the tools information scientists and professionals develop and study.”

R. David Lankes, July 31; Information Matters, July 31
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Annelise Hanshaw writes: “Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins and State Sen. Rick Brattin, a Harrisonville Republican running for US Congress in Missouri’s 5th congressional district, held a joint press conference July 28 to discuss their investigation into the Daniel Boone Regional Library. The library’s Columbia branch hosted a Rainbow Storytime July 25 for toddlers and preschoolers. The event featured two picture books: Rainbowsaurus and Big Wig. Hoskins told reporters he had looked up the books but not read them.”

Missouri Independent, July 28