Knox County Schools reverses Roots ban | American Libraries Magazine

Part of the cover of Roots Phenix S. Halley writes: “Just days after Alex Haley’s Roots was swept into Tennessee’s growing book ban, his historic work has been restored to school library shelves in Knox County following ongoing public backlash. The district reversed course after lawmakers put Roots on a restricted list under Tennessee’s book review policies, which allow parents and community members to challenge school materials they believe are inappropriate for students. The banned book list already included over 115 titles.” The Knox County Board of Education is scheduled to vote June 4 on two resolutions urging the Tennessee General Assembly to change treatment of challenged books.

The Root, May 27; Tennessee Lookout, May 26; WATE-TV (Knoxville), June 1

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David Nield writes: “More than 30 years after Adobe came up with it, the PDF file remains essential for archiving, sharing, and publishing. It’s no surprise that commercial PDF software tools are in high demand. But you don’t necessarily have to pay to process these documents, especially for basic editing operations. A host of PDF tools are available on the web that will let you quickly and easily manipulate your documents for free (with more advanced features and usage limits available for a price).”

Wired, June 2
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Roxy Van Ruiten and Darcy Ramirez write: “A display inside San Antonio’s Central Library is turning the city’s love for the Spurs NBA team into a celebration of reading, and it’s now getting national attention. San Antonio Public Library’s ‘Read Like Wemby’ display, inspired by Spurs star Victor Wembanyama’s well-known love of books, was recently featured in The New York Times. Staff said visitors are stopping to snap photos with the display, which highlights books connected to Wembanyama and his reading habits.”

KENS-TV (San Antonio), May 28
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Molly Templeton writes: “There’s so much to reread. This is a lesson I keep having to relearn. I struggle with rereading. It’s because of all those new books. It is hard to turn my back on the to-be-read pile and commit time to something I’ve read before. But then I do it, and I wonder what’s wrong with me. Rereading isn’t wasting time. It’s finding what I didn’t see before, discovering the details and the threads that were hiding, and, sometimes, if I’m really lucky, finding something I didn’t even know about myself.”

Reactor, May 28
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John Cox writes: “A clear identity matters for libraries. It explains what the library is, what it does and why, as well as who can benefit from what it provides. Crucially, it makes it as easy as possible for everyone to understand its offering and its value. Without that clarity, institutional leaders, decision-makers, and other stakeholders can overlook the library. Students and academics may turn elsewhere, the library suffers from lower visibility and less recognition, its contributions are underestimated, it loses its competitiveness in the fight for resources, and it struggles to advance its position within the institution.”

Times Higher Education, May 25
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As part of ALA’s 2026 sesquicentennial, the Association is launching a comprehensive fundraising campaign, “For Our Libraries. For 150 Years More.” The $60 million campaign goal represents the most ambitious philanthropic initiative in ALA’s history and reflects a long-term investment in libraries, library workers, literacy, intellectual freedom, and equitable access to information. Key action areas for the campaign include advancing the library profession, advocacy, equitable access to information, and intellectual freedom. The campaign extends through December 31, 2027.

ALA Communications & Media Relations Office, June 3
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“For this year’s report, we cover the new challenges academic libraries faced, including radical political and regulatory shifts in academic institutions, developments in artificial intelligence disrupting traditional research methods and tools, and Americans with Disabilities Act Title II whole-scale redesign of websites, digital repositories, and future collection and intake processes. The report also highlights a bright spot: the Data Rescue Project, a grassroots volunteer community launched in 2025 by data librarians to recover and house at-risk public data from shuttered government websites.”

College & Research Libraries News, vol. 87, no. 6, June
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ALA has partnered with NonProfit Vote as a partner for National Voter Registration Day, which will take place on September 15. ALA and the League of Women Voters will host a webinar July 15 at 3 p.m. Eastern that will highlight how the voter engagement landscape has changed in recent years, how local Leagues and libraries are evolving their collaborations in response, and how to contribute to increasing voter participation in 2026.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, May 29

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