ALA urges FCC to protect E-Rate funding for hotspot lending

Show Up For Our Libraries logo ALA, the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition, EdLiNC, and the Homework Gap Coalition submitted a joint letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging the Commission to protect two vital programs that expand internet access for students and library patrons: the Hotspot Lending Program and School Bus Wi-Fi. The letter responds to the last-minute addition of both items on the agenda for its September 30 meeting, when the FCC is expected to overturn the programs, despite the proven impact of hotspots and existing funding through the federal E-Rate program. The meeting will be streamed at fcc.gov/live and on FCC’s YouTube channel at 10:30 a.m. Eastern on September 30.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Sept. 24

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Sallyann Price writes: “Every year, United for Libraries Virtual brings together trustees, foundation and Friends members, and those who work with them for a virtual conference to discuss the library advocacy landscape. It’s also a space to brainstorm practical solutions for rallying communities around key issues, such as intellectual freedom, equitable access, and sustainable business practices that contribute to a vibrant, sturdy future. Many sessions at the most recent event focused on cultivating the library advocate, from preparing trustees to lead and communicating impact to funders to shaping the public narrative about why the library matters.”

American Libraries feature, Jan./Feb.
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Caelin Ross writes: “Belonging is often described as a feeling—something we either experience or lack, as if it is found by chance rather than actively created. But belonging is built through care, attention, and the often-invisible work of those who make room for others. Moments of transition make that labor visible, inviting us to pause and give flowers thoughtfully while we can. This piece is a reflection on what it means to build belonging through librarianship, and on the communities and colleagues who make that work possible.”

ACRLog, Dec. 19
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Hana Lee Goldin writes: “Recently, a client sent me their ‘thoroughly researched’ white paper on workplace automation. It had 47 citations. Looked bulletproof. Every claim backed by a study, every statistic sourced to a journal. I was impressed for exactly three minutes. Of those 47 citations, 31 were what we call ‘hallucinations.’ Real academic citations are messy. Artificial intelligence (AI) citations are suspiciously convenient. They appear right when you need them, saying exactly what you need them to say. In library school, they taught us something called ‘citation chaining,’ but I’ve adapted it for the age of AI hallucinations.”

LLRX, Dec. 30
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ALA’s Public Programs Office, in collaboration with The Pulitzer Prizes, invites public libraries to apply to host Pulitzer on the Road: Prize-Winning Works that Inform, Empower & Inspire, a new traveling exhibit that highlights the cultural legacy of The Pulitzer Prizes. Eighteen public libraries will be selected to host the traveling exhibit for a six-week period in 2027 and 2028. Read the project guidelines and apply online by March 27.

ALA Public Programs Office, Jan. 5
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Jenny Arch writes: “Sometimes being a children’s librarian looks like reading books at storytime, blowing bubbles for babies, and putting out fresh coloring sheets. And sometimes, it looks like listening as people tell you about a family dog who’s approaching death, or a new pregnancy that means a child is about to become a sibling, or an upcoming move out of state, or an impending divorce. ‘Do you have a book about that?’ they’ll ask, after revealing this big thing they’re facing, and yes, I do. Here are just a few books on some of these subjects.”

Jenny Arch, Dec. 22
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Anita Sundaram Coleman writes: “We’ve organized against external censorship—book bans, state control, explicit suppression. We’ve built our intellectual freedom frameworks around visible enemies: school boards, politicians, would-be censors trying to remove books from shelves. Meanwhile, we’re drowning our patrons—and ourselves—in a Huxleyan nightmare of infinite choice, weaponized engagement, and information designed to prevent the formation of selves capable of caring about books at all. The data centers humming in the desert aren’t storing banned books. They’re storing the behavioral profiles that ensure we never develop the attention span to read challenging books in the first place.”
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Jorge A. Aguilar writes: “Google is finally rolling out a feature that lets users change their primary @gmail.com username without having to create an entirely new Google account. This is great for those who use a silly or embarrassing address they now regret, or for people whose names or circumstances have changed. Thankfully, this will keep all your stored data completely intact. All the years of photos, Drive files, messages, and emails will not be lost just because you updated your username. That’s a massive relief because migrating years of digital life is always a nightmare.”

How-To Geek, Dec. 25

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