May 2025

Features & Trends

2025 Library Systems Report

By Marshall Breeding

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

‘Inspiring Examples of What is Possible’: Meet the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees

By Chase Ollis

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 ‘Inspiring Examples of What is Possible’: Meet the 2025 I Love My Librarian Award Honorees →

Two images: On the right, a library staffer empties a big rubber bucket of barley; on the left, the finished product: a glass of golden beer next to a can whose dark green label reads, "Celebrating the 1895,"

Brewing Connections

By Rosie Newmark

The pre-Prohibition-style lager they crafted together was called 1895, a nod to the founding year of Johnson City Public Library (JCPL), located just a few blocks from the brewery’s downtown taproom. Inspired by beers of the late 19th century, it features three flavors: coffee (for its connection to books), black currant (for a vintage flare), … Continue reading Brewing Connections →

Columnists

Latest Library Links

4h

Jennifer Peterson writes: “In my time as a youth services librarian, I visited with thousands of school children each school year in the fall and spring months to promote books, reading, literacy, the library, and of course, summer reading! Here are my top five tips I can offer as you get ready to promote your summer reading program to students this spring.”

ALSC Blog, Apr. 26
22h

Hannah Weinberg writes: “This week marks 100 days since President Trump’s January 20 inauguration. It has also been approximately 45 days since Trump signed the March 14 executive order that called for stripping the Institute for Museum and Library Services (IMLS) down to its ‘non-statutory and component functions.’ Censorship attempts persist, IMLS staffers have been placed on leave, previously granted IMLS funding has been canceled, and library staffers continue to make difficult decisions about how to best maintain services for their communities. Following is American Libraries’ update on the challenges libraries and librarians continue to fight under the Trump administration.”

American Libraries feature, Apr. 30
23h

Elissa Malespina writes: “April 23, the White House released an executive order titled Advancing Artificial Intelligence (AI) Education for American Youth. It’s a headline-worthy step toward prioritizing AI literacy in schools. The memo calls for coordinated federal action to provide students with ‘equitable and safe’ access to AI education. As someone deeply invested in teaching AI literacy to students and educators, I wanted to feel excited. But after reading it closely, I’m left with more questions—and concerns—than confidence.

The AI School Librarians Newsletter, Apr. 23
1d

Deborah Walters writes: “The Freedom to Read Statement was created in a time when questions about censorship, morality, and free expression were at the forefront of people’s minds. Librarians, especially, were embroiled in a battle against would-be censors, who fought against Communists and the corruption of morals. Numerous cases were brought against public librarians in the early 1950s for failing to remove publications from the shelves deemed ‘inappropriate.’ After the Boston Post called for the removal of Communist newspapers and publications from the Boston Public Library, there was a push for a purposeful discussion on the defense of intellectual freedom.”

ALA Archives, Apr. 23
2d

Maddie Hanna writes: “The Radnor school board voted April 22 to restore three books that were removed in February from Radnor (Pa.) High School’s library, after impassioned pleas from community members to reject censorship and support LGBTQ students. The board voted 6–0, with three members abstaining, to return Gender Queer, Fun Home, and Blankets to the high school library. The vote reversed decisions by an ad hoc committee appointed by the district’s superintendent that determined the books—all graphic novels, with some sexual depictions—were not age appropriate.”

Philadelphia Inquirer, Apr. 23; Patch.com, Mar. 7
2d

Jack Dura writes: “North Dakota’s Republican governor Kelly Armstrong on April 23 vetoed bills to further restrict sexual content in libraries and to create a private school voucher program, rejecting two measures that have seen widespread support by GOP governors in other states. The library bill would have expanded North Dakota’s 2023 prohibition on ‘explicit sexual material’ in public libraries to school districts, and require those entities to have policies for relocating such material ‘to an area in the library not easily accessible to minors.’” The Senate’s attempt to override the veto failed on April 25.

Associated Press, Apr. 23; KFYR-TV (Bismarck, N.D.), Apr. 26
2d

Since early April, numerous libraries and library organizations have received notices that their federal grant awards—such as those from the Institute of Museum and Library Services—have been terminated. ALA is responding to these politically motivated attacks on library funding with public advocacy and litigation. In addition, ALA has encouraged grantees who receive a termination notice to consider several suggestions.

ALA Public Policy and Advocacy Office, Apr. 22