#american libraries

[greencreeker]

Seattle Public Library is doing this awesome program called Books Unbanned that allows teens and young adults (ages 13-26) access to their collection of e-books and e-audiobooks from anywhere in the USA. All you need to do is fill out a simple form and you get their Books Unbanned card. Please share this information far and wide. I know they're not the only ones to have done this, but the more the merrier!

[liyazaki]

via the Arkansas Advocate

it’s official: in Arkansas, library staff may now be charged with a Class D felony for providing books to their communities that are deemed “obscene”.

in Florida, school librarians and teachers can be criminally charged for checking out books to kids that dare to touch on LGBTQ topics & gender identity, thanks to the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.

book censorship in the US is at such an all-time high, book sanctuaries are popping up all over the country.

library staff aren’t physically safe, either. just over the past couple months, threats against libraries and their staff resulted in the temporary closure of “five public library systems due to bomb and shooting threats," ALA. active shooter trainings have become the new norm for me.

the censorship myself and my colleagues have been watching unfold over the last several years has felt like watching a slow-motion car crash.

but this bill? this feels like a death knell for my profession.

via Teen Vogue

when I was a confused queer kid growing up in an ultra-religious household, the library was my refuge. when I asked hard questions, librarians listened and gave me the tools I needed to answer them. in many ways, libraries saved my life. it's why I became a librarian.

I can't believe I'm living in times where future generations of kids may not have access to the same refuge I did, but it's happening.

if you live in the US and you care about protecting open, equitable access to information, please check out the American Library Association for anti-censorship resources in your state, info on contacting your representatives, etc.

you can also report censorship you see in your community and ALA will investigate (1-800-545-2433, ext. 4266; [email protected]).

I know this isn't my usual content, but libraries are standing on the edge of a horrifying precipice- one we can't escape on our own.

libraries are free society's canary in the coal mine, and all the alarms are singing. when libraries fall, nations usually aren't far behind.

this matters- and we need help.

[intothestacks]

Libraries Around the World: Aberdeen, US

Aberdeen Public Library

[rasheednewsonauthor]

The American Library in Paris selected me to be one of its 2025-2026 Vistiting Fellows. I am honored! I am elated!

I may never return from Paris…

(Photo credit: Christopher Mars)

[tragediegh]

going fucking insane while prepping for the September display at work

[bitch-a-la-mode]

The US library system, once the best in the world, faces death by a thousand cuts | Brewster Kahle

In addition to political censorship and budget cuts, libraries are being undermined by rapacious digital licensing agreements

[penig]

From the 3/23 Publisher’s Lunch:

ALA Report: Book Ban Attempts Almost Doubled in 2022

The American Library Association released a new report on Thursday about the total amount of attempted book bans and restrictions in 2022, which they say almost doubled from the previous year. The AP writes, "More than 1,200 challenges were compiled by the association in 2022, nearly double the then-record total from 2021 and by far the most since the ALA began keeping data 20 years ago." The ALA's findings are based on media reports, as well as accounts from libraries, and they say "the numbers might be far higher."

Rather than attempting to ban or restrict access to one book at a time, people are now often asking for "multiple removals," sometimes with "hundreds of books" challenged in a single complaint. Whereas previously, the complaints were mostly individuals, the effort now involves so-called "parental rights" groups like Moms for Liberty.

Director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom Deborah Caldwell-Stone maintained that the "vast majority" of challenges come from "conservatives, directed at works with LGBTIQA+ or racial themes." Additionally, librarians have been threatened and harassed. Meanwhile, laws facilitating book bans have been proposed and passed in multiple states. "I’ve never seen anything like this," said Caldwell-Stone. "The last two years have been exhausting, frightening, outrage inducing."

Last September, Congress

prepared resolutions

to oppose the wave of bannings and the "proliferating threats to freedom of expression in the United States." However, no laws have been passed to protect libraries.

[iweon]

A grey day and a Stephen King book. Just a good plan ;) Read like Michael J. Fox.