Photo from the set of the game show Jeopardy!

Newsmaker: Adriana Harmeyer

May 12, 2025

Harmeyer—who holds the 11th longest consecutive winning streak of any player on the show—spoke with American Libraries about her longtime love of the game, her least favorite category, and how she blazed her path to the Masters. As an adolescent, you auditioned for the Jeopardy! Teen Tournament and weren’t selected. And now you’re one of … Continue reading Newsmaker: Adriana Harmeyer


Illustration of computer-related icons with the text 2025 Library Systems Report

2025 Library Systems Report

May 1, 2025

Companies continue to tailor products to the diverging service needs and collections of public, academic, school, and special libraries. Library services platforms (LSPs) designed for academic libraries, for example, are not well suited for public libraries. This stratification further narrows customers’ choices. The expectation is that a handful of established players will continue to drive … Continue reading 2025 Library Systems Report


Award winner Jessica Gleason speaking at the awards ceremony podium

Meet the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

May 1, 2025

On January 24, the American Library Association (ALA) presented the awards as part of the LibLearnX conference in Phoenix (watch the video here). Among the recipients were four academic librarians, three public librarians, and three school librarians, each nominated by community members for their expertise, dedication, and impact. Awardees received $5,000, as well as complimentary … Continue reading Meet the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees



Jennifer Beals, assistant dean and director of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives at University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), poses with items from the library's Scopes Trial collection.

Bookend: On the Origin of Scopes

May 1, 2025

“There’s just so much surrounding the whole story,” says Jennifer Beals, assistant dean and director of the Betsey B. Creekmore Special Collections and University Archives at University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK), who curated the library’s exhibit commemorating the trial’s centennial. UTK’s Scopes trial archive includes transcripts, photos, and ephemera from locals and attorneys involved in the … Continue reading Bookend: On the Origin of Scopes


Collage of government directives and MLIS acting director Keith Sonderling

100 Days into the Trump Administration

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



A black line on the floor inside the Haskell Library indicates the border between the US and Canada. Above the line, a small US flag on the left and Canadian flag on the right sit side-by-side on a bookshelf.

Feds Curb Canadian Access to Library on the Border

April 14, 2025

US Rep. Natalie M. Blais (D-Mass.), who grew up in nearby Derby Line, Vermont, calls the library her “entryway to other worlds growing up in a really small town.” The line on the floor delineating the border, she says, never seemed particularly important. “It just wasn’t something that we paid attention to,” Blais says. “Being … Continue reading Feds Curb Canadian Access to Library on the Border


Chris Kluwe speaking into a microphone atop a podium

Newsmaker: Chris Kluwe

April 4, 2025

In February, Kluwe was arrested at a city council meeting in Huntington Beach, California, after speaking out against the installation of a plaque to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the town’s central library. The plaque, as unanimously approved by the city council, features the stacked words “Magical, Alluring, Galvanizing, Adventurous” as well as the sentence … Continue reading Newsmaker: Chris Kluwe



Collage of people and topics mentioned in this article: Colleen Shogan, former archivist of the United States; the National Archives logo; text of executive orders; and books Freckleface Strawberry and No Truth Without Ruth

Tracking the Trump Administration’s Attacks on Libraries

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


An illustration of a person on a book bike pedaling in the direction of the library

The Sustainability Issue

March 3, 2025

That’s what science librarian René Tanner—one of the dozens of librarians and experts whose actions American Libraries highlights in our Sustainability Issue—tells us. At a time when climate change seems impervious to the realities of workplace budgets and staff bandwidth, Tanner’s words ring as a salve and an appeal. When our team began planning this … Continue reading The Sustainability Issue