#American Library Association

[archivlibrarianist]

Banned Books Week 2025 Theme Unveiled: "Censorship is so 1984. Read for your rights."

[doubtspirit]

Knowledge Wins - Public Library Books are Free, American Library Association (1918)

[lavalamps-and-ladydoors]

Woke up to this news and im angered beyond belief. Libraries are part of the lifeblood of our democracy and this is pure facsim. Plain and simple.

Im attaching some links below of petitions and emails to send.

Stay informed. Stay alert. Stay strong.

[redgoldsparks]

It's Right to Read Day, celebrating libraries, highlighting the relentless attacks against them, and encouraging folks to take at least one action to defend them! The American Library Association's data on the most banned books from 2024 is now out; after 3 years in the top spot GENDER QUEER came in at second on the list with George M Johnson's beautiful queer memoir ALL BOYS AREN'T BLUE at number one. If you haven't read it yet, please go pick up this book.

Unfortunately, instead of dying down, we are now seeing the book ban movement morph into an effort to defund and destroy ALL public libraries and ALL public education, as exemplified by the Trump Administration aiming to dismantle the Department of Education and placing all employees of the Institute of Museum and Library Services on administrative leave. The IMLS is an independent federal agency that provides grants to libraries and museums across the country. According to the American Library Association, the IMLS provides “the majority of federal library funds.” The IMLS says it awarded $266 million in grants and research funding to cultural institutions last year. This money goes to help staff, fund maintenance, and create new programs. If you are curious how the termination of this grant funding will effect the state of California, here is a press release from the California State Library. Please call your state governor and representatives asking them to demand support for the IMLS!

I also wanted to share some resources to help you talk about book bans/book challenges if the topic comes up in conversation. There are a set of really common bad faith arguments which book banners make, and I helped write up a set of responses for Authors Against Book Bans (much of this was also written and compiled by superstar author and AABB leader Maggie Tokuda-Hall). Below the responses to bad faith arguments are a list of resources you can contribute to, especially if you live in a blue state and don't have a current legislative battle over books and libraries in your own backyard.

What to Say When They Say What They Always Say: an Authors Against Book Bans resource

I haven’t read this book but I don’t think it’s appropriate for children! 

Please read the full book before you judge it. Passages are often presented without context. 

So you want kids to have access to porn?

No. And if that is a concern of yours as a parent, install browser filters such as Google SafeSearch on your children’s devices to keep them from accessing the wealth of pornography available to them on the internet. It’s already illegal to bring pornography into schools. There are robust safeguards– from laws, to industry standards in publishing and librarianship and education– to safeguard our children from obscene materials, as determined by the Miller Test. 

What about parents’ rights?

Parents already have robust rights in their children’s education. When that means limiting access to certain books parents can do so; nearly all schools have policies to this effect. But what about all the parents who WANT their kids to have access to books? Their children should not be limited by what another parent in the community decides for their own family. And what if a parent wants to limit their child’s access to something that child would benefit from? What about the child’s rights? Children are people, not possessions of their parents.

If my taxes fund the schools and libraries, I should have a say in how they’re used.

Schools and libraries serve entire communities, not just those who agree with you. Libraries and schools have professional educators and librarians with PhDs who are trained to curate collections that serve diverse populations, not just one viewpoint.

LGBTQ+ books confuse kids or make them gay/trans. They push an agenda.

LGBTQ+ representation is not an “agenda”—it’s simply a reflection of real people’s lives. If books featuring LGBTQ+ characters are “pushing an agenda,” then books featuring straight relationships or cisgender characters are as well. Reading about something does not automatically change a person’s identity, just as reading about astronauts does not turn every child into an astronaut. Reading about LGBTQ+ characters can both help kids understand themselves and build empathy and understanding towards others.

I live California. Why should I care about book bans if they’re not happening here?

We are fortunate to live in a state where book banning on the basis of discrimination has been outlawed through AB1825, which passed in 2024. However, California has still seen numerous book challenges in cities like Huntington Beach, Burbank, Lodi, and Chico—some of which continue efforts to overturn these protections. While bans are worse in red states, they still happen in blue states. Book bans are about control—not protecting children. The people banning books today will censor other forms of speech tomorrow. The right to read is a fundamental civil liberty, and we should protect it accordingly.

How Can I Help from a Blue State? For the biggest bang for your buck, we recommend  that you donate to the grassroots organizations making a difference in the places where the bans are happening all the time. All the ACLU chapters listed here are currently involved in lawsuits against book banners. 

We suggest:

Florida Freedom to Read Project: https://www.fftrp.org/donate 

Texas Freedom to Read Project: https://www.txftrp.org/donate 

Honesty for Ohio Education: https://www.honestyforohioeducation.org/donate.html 

Diversity Awareness Youth Literacy Organization (DAYLO) in South Carolina: https://patconroyliterarycenter.org/donate-today-to-pat-conroy-literary-center/ 

Students Engaged in Advancing Texas (SEAT): https://www.studentsengaged.org/donate 

San Francisco’s Books Not Bans!: https://givebutter.com/booksnotbans 

Coeur D’Alene Public Library in Idaho: https://cdalibrary.org/donate/ 

Let Utah Read: https://www.fundlibraries.org/letutahread

Tennessee ACLU: https://www.aclu-tn.org/en/donate 

South Carolina ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/give/support-aclu-south-carolina 

Southern California ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/give/support-aclu-socal 

Iowa ACLU: https://action.aclu.org/give/support-aclu-iowa 

Fight for the First helps start grassroots groups all across the country: https://secure.actblue.com/donate/fightforthefirst 

EveryLibrary (is a national org, but they financially support many of the groups listed here, as well as AABB): https://www.everylibrary.org/donate 

You can also call your state reps to express your commitment to protecting the freedom to read. Protections in blue states are just as contagious as bans in red states. The more of us who have them, the more states will follow suit. Use the 5Calls app do this, or find your rep here: https://findyourrep.legislature.ca.gov/ 

And of course- if you are an author, editor, illustrator, cartoonist, translator, anthology editor, self-published author, please join Authors Against Book Bans! We could use the help! If you want to help recruit to AABB, feel free to print and pass out my recruitment zine at any literary event you attend <3

[youwillfindilluminating]

[libraryjournal]

Without the federal funding provided by IMLS, the valuable programs and services that libraries deliver to their communities are at risk. As for current IMLS staff, the future is uncertain. The Executive Order directs the agency to “reduce the performance of their statutory functions and associated personnel to the minimum presence and function required by law.”

ALA President Cindy Hohl weighed in shortly after the EO was ordered with ALA’s call to action. “This is a time for unity. As a community of library and information professionals, we must face these threats by showing up together—library workers, friends, trustees and public supporters—to advocate for our patrons, our profession, and our core values. The existential threats we’re facing now call us to draw on our greatest power: library stories that touch hearts and change minds, especially for decisionmakers. We ask you to call members of Congress to tell those powerful stories that show the true importance of our libraries.”

[frogshunnedshadows]

REM for America's libraries. American Library Association, Disney Adventures Magazine, 1993.

[thesmilingfish]

[jeremywhitley]

I am thrilled to share with you all that Navigating with You is now a Stonewall Honor book!

Thank you so much to the rest of the team as well as Mad Cave and Maverick! And a huge thank you to the American Library Association and all the librarians fighting yo make sure kids and teens find the stories they need even as the government is working against them!

[sswslitinmotion]

April 6-12, 2025, is National Library Week. Check the link for the suggestions and events per the American Library Association.

Contact congressional reps to protect federal funds for libraries, especially as the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) is in serious trouble. -- ssw15.

[political-us]

[unhinged-soapbox]

They're trying to defund libraries. They are trying to defund libraries. Happy Ides of March, do with this information what you will.

(Here's a link to write an email to your reps about protecting libraries:)

[mouna-bat]

Manga Goes to School is OUT NOW!

I co-wrote and did art for Manga Goes to School-- all about how to curate manga in school libraries and using manga in classrooms! Available to buy from the American Library Association store and Amazon. Be sure to check it out!

[thebanishedreader]

7 Banned Book Requests Made This Year

Infographic & original post by Impact

[archivlibrarianist]

While some organizations have capitulated to executive order strong-arming, the IMLS is among those who have responded with, "Fuck you; make us."

From the article linked:

"In a March 24 letter to Sonderling, who was installed as IMLS acting director last week, the board, in its 'statutory capacity,' offered a lengthy list of duties set out in the 'Museum and Library Services Act of 2018,' that cannot be 'paused, reduced, or eliminated without violating Congressional intent and federal statute.'”  

You can read the letter to Director Sonderling here. The ALA also has a copy available at their site.

[uwmspeccoll]

Milestone Monday

The King's Hares, from Norway

The Princess with the Twelve Pair of Golden Shoes, from Denmark

Queen Crane, from Sweden

The Rooster, the Hand Mill and the Swarm of Hornets, from Sweden

Ti-Tirit-Ti, from Italy

The Adventures of Bona and Nello, from Italy

The Hedgehog Who Became a Prince, from Poland

The Flight, from Poland

April 1st is the birthday of American librarian and storyteller Augusta Braxton Baker (1911-1998). Born to two schoolteachers in Baltimore, Baker was a voracious student who read at a young age and careened through elementary and high school. With advocacy support from Eleanor Roosevelt, Baker was admitted to the Albany Teacher’s College and in 1934 earned a B. A. in Education and a B. S. in Library Science making her the first African American to earn a librarianship degree from the college.  

In 1939, Baker went on to work as the children’s librarian at New York Public Library’s Harlem branch, founding the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection of Children’s Books to showcase representation of Black children and life in books, and beginning a lifelong career with children’s literature and the New York Public Library (NYPL). In 1953, she was appointed Storytelling Specialist and Assistant Coordinator of Children’s Services, quickly moving into the Coordinator of Children’s Services position years later and becoming the first African American to hold an administrative position with NYPL. Throughout her career, Baker was active with the American Library Association, and chaired committees for the Newbery Medal and Caldecott Medal recognizing excellence in children’s literature. 

In celebration of Baker’s birthday, we’re sharing The Golden Lynx and Other Tales, a collection of international folk tales compiled by Baker and illustrated by Austrian artist Johannes Troyer (1902-1969). This is the first edition of the book published in 1960 by J. B. Lippincott and is signed by Baker, who writes in the introduction, “No story has been included in this collection that has not stood the supreme test of the children’s interest and approval”. 

Read other Milestone Monday posts here! 

View more posts on children's books here.

– Jenna, Special Collections Graduate Intern