What Were the Real Reasons that Trump Fired the Librarian of Congress?

The Trump administration fired one of the most respected, celebrated, and qualified librarians in America.

Supporting the IMLS Amid Budget Cuts

The IMLS federal agency awards significant grants to US libraries and museums. Unfortunately, it's facing threats of budget cuts and the elimination of vital team members who support the community needs of library facilities. Here’s what you need to know about the IMLS and why canceling current grants will devastate US community members.

School Library Musings: Good Noise, Good Trouble!

Old television shows from the 1950s through the 1990s that featured kids in schools would inevitably set a scene or two in the library. Students would be sitting around large library tables, books open, whispering to each other. Should any of those whispers rise above a certain decibel, the stereotyped librarian’s harsh “SHHH!” would ring out over the room.

Little Free Libraries Deliver Big Benefits

On a stroll around the neighborhood, the whimsical birdhouse-like box catches your eye. A glass door and shelves brimming with fascinating finds invite you to look inside, with everything from classic novels to brightly illustrated children’s books on display.

Why We Need to Save IMLS

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) does a lot to help libraries and museums, but it has recently come under attack. While IMLS has faced the threat of funding cuts before, the department is now being gutted, its future uncertain. Many people probably have never heard of IMLS, but it is actually a vital lifeline for libraries and museums across the United States.

Trump’s Military Academies Are Becoming Laboratories for Unconstitutional Censorship​​, Not Leadership

At the nation’s elite military academies, the library stacks are being emptied by executive order. Adults 18 and over attend these schools, not children.

Surrounded by Chaos? Maybe It’s Time to Mug Up

The first few months of the Trump Administration went as promised: a firehose of executive orders that were designed to instill fear and raised concerns about whether those in charge know what they are doing.

United States v. One Book Called Ulysses

Every June, Bloomsday is celebrated in Dublin, Ireland, and other cities around the world. Bloomsday is a celebration of James Joyce’s novel Ulysses, whose events took place on June 16, 1904. Ulysses was, of course, famously banned in the United States from its 1922 publication until 1933.

E-Rate: What It Is and Why It Matters

Libraries are such an essential part of communities all over the world. In the US, libraries provide so much more than books (although, of course, access to books is still a vital function in the library world). Like many other aspects of life, a critical component of library work depends on access to the internet.

Carnegie Libraries Across America Celebrates the Contributions of a Library Hero

There was a time in America when the wealthiest citizens liked to use their abundant funds to build various buildings and institutions that would bear their names and long outlive them, such as university buildings and museums. One such philanthropist was Andrew Carnegie, a Scottish American who became one of the richest people in American history through his expansion of the steel industry in the nineteenth century.