#Libraries are for everyone

[kingsbridgelibraryteens]

Adults, kids, and teens! Stop by our library today to sign a letter of support, and get a free gift from NYPL while supplies last.

Remember that if you can't come to the library in person, you can still sign a support letter online and/or create a virtual sticky note to support the library!

#NoCutsToLibraries

#InvestInLibraries

[notetoriouslylazy]

Remember periodicals? Yeah, that newspaper and magazine section you learned about in school and thought the Internet killed.

Most libraries still have them, and are updating them based on usage. One of the libraries I work at has History Today and Smithsonian Magazine which I check out every month.

When I started at the other library I work at one of my first assignments was to look at stats for our existing subscriptions, select 3 titles to cut, and recommend replacements.

Everyone I've ever talked to has loved their local library. But most of them also admit they don't go to the library because "who goes to the library anymore?"

Tons of people! We sign up new members every day! You love your library? You want to support it? Get a library card! Check out books! Check out movies! Check out magazines!

FFS one of the libraries I work for lends out ukuleles, hiking back packs, bocce sets, night vision goggles, and so much more depending on the season. Both of them lend out telescopes.

So what if you don't like to read books? We won't judge you. Come in and use the computer! Ask about our museum passes! Check out our upcoming programs! You don't have to be a bookworm to love the library. You don't even have to be literate. (Seriously, one of my friends is functionally illiterate, it's not his fault. He has learning disabilities and the school system failed to help him.)

Libraries are one of the last places in America where you can hang out for hours without the expectation of paying money.

LIBRARIES ARE FOR EVERYONE!

Unhoused? Come to the library!

New to the country? Come to the library!

Teen who needs a safe space? Come to the library!

Retiree who needs stimulation? Come to the library!

IDGAF who you are, what your background is, or how you identify. If you come into my library I will treat you as a friend and equal.

Public libraries are one of the most valuable resources for the marginalized and underprivileged in this country. Help us keep providing valuable resources to those that need them. Support your local library! Show your elected officials how much you care!

Both of the libraries I work for are facing budget cuts and everyone is upset about it but they don't make their frustration known when it matters most.

Because our biggest patrons are the disenfranchised, few of them go to the voting booth. When a town or city is facing budget cuts the library is one of the first to go. Combine that with attacks from alt right groups that want to dictate what we can and can't do, libraries are in a crisis nationwide.

My experience is no different from someone in California, Kansas, the Bible Belt, or the Pacific Northwest. We are all struggling, we're all dealing with compassion fatigue. We all need the help and support of everyone in our communities in order to keep providing the kinds of access and resources that are invaluable to millions of people across the US.

[ineffablemossy]

I may have birthed a demon child

We went to the library this afternoon. It has a huge kids section. I went to browse and came back 10 mins later to this:

If that's not demon sitting I don't know what is.

Oh and in case you're wondering. The book he picked up is:

Fortunately, The Milk

By Neil Gaimen

I am so surprised. This lil ND kid doesn't read much. He got into Dogman a few years ago but nothing's really clicked since then.

By the time he wanted to leave he was a 1/4 of the way through. And read more at bedtime!

Thank you Neil <3

Thank Somebody for libraries <3

But yeah also this child does not know how chairs work

[transitranger327]

Our budgets are often “use it or lose it” which means Y’ALL HAVE TO USE IT.

"Don't use Libby because it costs libraries too much, pirate instead" is such a weird, anti-patron, anti-author take that somehow manages to also be anti-library, in my professional librarian-ass opinion.

It's well documented that pirating books negatively affects authors directly* in a way that pirating movies or TV shows doesn't affect actors or writers, so I will likely always be anti-book piracy unless there's absolutely, positively no other option (i.e. the book simply doesn't exist outside of online archives at all, or in a particular language).

Also, yeah, Libby and Hoopla licenses are really expensive, but libraries buy them SO THAT PATRONS CAN USE THEM. If you're gonna be pissed at anybody about this shitty state of affairs, be pissed at publishing companies and continue to use Libby or Hoopla at your library so we can continue to justify having it to our funding bodies.

One of the best ways to support your library having services you like is to USE THOSE SERVICES. Yes, even if they are expensive.

*Yes, this is a blog post, but it's a blog post filled with links to news articles. If you can click one link, you can click another.

[criminalizegolf]

> read library book

> it's good

Thank you library

[sadgirlautumn]

“kids spend too much time on their devices” well what else are they supposed to do? there’s no corner shops with pinball machines in them on every corner anymore. there’s no malls or stores in small towns for teens to hang out in without being suspected of shoplifting or kicked out for loitering. sidewalks are too broken for them to ride their bikes and there’s no bike lane in the street to make it safe for them. i just don’t understand where they expect these kids to go when they keep taking places away from them. and yes having no safe public places for them is what leads a lot of teens into addiction if they end up at a place where people aren’t truly looking out for them.

[b33viemm]

it makes me so ANGRY when people go "Why do we even have libraries anymore" HAVE YOU EVER FELT JOY BEFORE? HAVE YOU EVER FELT A SENSE OF COMMUNITY IRL? HAVE YOU EVER READ A BOOK BEFORE????? LIBRARIES ARE EVOLVING AND THEY ARE STILL RELEVANT. THEY ARE PLACES FOR PEOPLE TO GATHER. THEY ARE EVOLVING TO THE MODERN NEEDS OF THE COMMUNITY THEY ARE IN. They have BOOKS, yea, but they also have computers and FREE internet access, they have printers and scanners and 3D printers. They have music and movies and tv shows and audiobooks and DVDs and almost any digital media you can imagine. They have art programs and music programs and child care programs and summer care programs and food programs. They have classes on just about anything if you look in the right library. Just looking at just my local library system's page, I can see portable makers spaces (vans). I see student resources and anti-racism resources and LGBTQ+ resources and free internet and tech device programs. I see help for self-publishing and small artists. I see career help. You can do HIGHSCHOOL PROGRAMS AND COLLEGE PROGRAMS (LITERALLY COMPLETE HIGHSCHOOL AND COLLEGE AT A LIBRARY!!). I see college financial assistance resources and community service programs and homework help. I see CITIZENSHIP AND IMMIGRATION RESOURCES. ALL OF THIS IS FREE. PEOPLE NEEDED ALL OF THESE THINGS AND WHAT DID LIBRARIES DO? THEY WELCOMED THEM WITH OPEN ARMS.

They are shelters for people who have only seen rain. They encourage creativity and reading and learning and being yourself, finding yourself.

Yeah, the internet taught me a lot but BOOKS WILL ALWAYS BE AN INVALUABLE RESOURCE for SO MANY PEOPLE, ON SO MANY TOPICS PEOPLE MAYBE CANT SEARCH ON THE INTERNET! Do you know how LONG books have been a thing? TELL ME. WELL GUESS WHAT SCROLLS WERE FIRST MADE AROUND 500 BC SO SHUT THE FUCK UP. How long have YOU been around??? 80 SHORT YEARS that's ALL you'll GET books TRANSCEND THE BOUNDARIES OF TIME. THEY ARE ONE OF THE ONLY WAYS WE CAN BECOME IMMORTAL. THEY ARE FULL OF IDEAS AND CONCEPTS AND HISTORY AND RESEARCH AND ART. LIBRARY BUILDINGS THEMSELVES ARE OFTEN MADE LIKE WORKS OF ART.

LIBRARIES AND BOOKS ARE THE ESSENCES OF HUMAN RESILIENCE, HUMAN LOVE, HUMANITY. Libraries and books are two of the most important things humans have ever made. We connect in and through libraries. We put libraries in the wildest places, and we use bookmobiles and libraries on horses and mules to get to people who don't have access to free books. I know a library that's building used to be a gas station. Libraries are adaptable. Librarians are warriors and social workers and they are most often radical and progressive.

I don't want to go into the entire history of libraries and books, but I will say there is a reason libraries and books are often targeted in war. Burning libraries is destroying humanity. Burning libraries is wiping out thousands of years of ideas and history like it never existed. Those words may not have existed anywhere else but on those pages and now we can never know what that person had to say.

People won't stop writing books. We will not stop referencing them or reading them or making art out of them or making art in them. People who think libraries are irrelevant make me really sad. They have never experienced how amazing and breathtaking these places can be. Books are the essence of how humans can flourish under harsh conditions, but even under capitalism or an oppressive government, we can still spread ideas, and rebel in our own ways. Where do we store those books? Libraries.

So fuck your definition of a library. They are not just book warehouses. They are spaces we can come together. They are spaces with books, but they are also spaces with people. Each book is looking into someone's mind and understanding their ideas, their beliefs, and stories and lives. They are ANYTHING but irrelevant. In this digital era, they are more relevant than ever.

If any of this interests you, The Library Book (by Susan Orlean) is one of my favorite books and talks about the 1986 Los Angeles Library Fire, the LAPL in general (and how important it is), modern libraries, library history, a bit about the burning of libraries in history, and books in general. Give it a read :D

Sorry for the rant I just kept going :P

For muffim under line if u see this

thanks @muffimtv for setting me off on this rant i was almost going to post this under your comment about me lmfao <3

can you tell i want to be a librarian.....

Destroy the myth that libraries are no longer relevant. If you use your library, please reblog.

[tweedsmuir-library]

All Are Welcome

This is YOUR School Library. We want all students and staff at Lord Tweedsmuir Secondary School to feel welcome when they come to the School Library. During Pride Week, we want to emphasize that this is a safe space for people of all sexual orientations and gender identities. Libraries are for everyone.

[making-marginalia]

Books Unbanned

A few years ago, Brooklyn Public Library’s (2025) innovative Books Unbanned program was all over my socials. The program provides free access to Brooklyn’s digital library for young people aged 13-21 and aims to combat book censorship and content deserts in America. I shared the opportunity on my socials but didn’t investigate it further as it wasn’t available to me or my library users in Australia. However, when asked to reflect on a digital library resource, Books Unbanned came to mind, especially given the increasing efforts to defund American libraries and challenge their collections (Lo, 2025).

My research led me to the journal article Books Unbanned: Expanding Access to Content via Library Ebooks by Amy Mikel and Michael Blackwell (2023).

It discusses censorship,  which is highlighted in my other professional reading including the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions [IFLA] 2024 Trends in Libraries Report (2025). This notes censorship is a key change in knowledge practices. In my own work, censorship and challenges are regular concerns as my library houses our Pride Collection and related programs.

Books Unbanned aims to provide access to young people in restrictive areas, and I am not surprised over 8,000 young people have taken advantage of it. This aligns with my own experience. Our library’s well-curated and funded Pride Collection attracts young adult borrowers from across Sydney and our digital collection is widely used outside our local government area [LGA]. This made me wonder if our library is an oasis for those in content deserts.

I reviewed the American Library Association’s [ALA] Ten Most Challenged Books of 2023, (ALA, 2024) and I was pleased to find my library holds all ten.

I compared our collection to Cumberland Council’s, which faced significant book bans and collection challenges last year (ALIA, 2024). Sadly, they only held two of these titles, both as e-books. The article notes that digital formats sometimes escape censorship, and I wonder if that has occurred here.

An important takeaway is that censorship sometimes comes from within the library. Librarians can act as gatekeepers through strict access policies, selective weeding, shelving, displays, or purchasing choices. Our library recently removed barriers like proof of address requirements and now offers digital and visitor memberships. However, the article’s suggestions for self-reflection on ebook collections show areas for improvement.

For example, our patron-driven acquisition process is not intuitive, and most requests come from older Anglo borrowers. Targeted marketing could help young people and diverse community members add what they want to read to our physical and digital collections. Additionally,  marketing our e-resources specifically to young people could increase use.

I assumed my library had the most challenged titles in all formats, but we do not have some as ebooks or eaudio. I also did not realise that the most frequently challenged books are young adult titles. I plan to recommend purchasing all formats of these books for our digital library and promoting them to our young adult readers.

Books Unbanned has expanded to Boston, San Diego, Seattle, and Los Angeles (Enis, 2024). I’m unsure if anything similar exists in Australia, which makes that an area for further exploration and development.

References:

American Library Association [ALA]. 2024. State of America’s libraries report. https://www.ala.org/news/state-americas-libraries-report-2024

Australian Library and Information Association [ALIA]. 2024. Update on our response to the Cumberland Council book ban. https://alia.org.au/Web/Web/News/Articles/2024/May-2024/Update_ALIA_Cumberland.aspx

Brooklyn Public Library [BPL]. (2025). Books Unbanned. https://www.bklynlibrary.org/books-unbanned

Enis, M. (2024, September 23). Books Unbanned still growing strong more than two years after launch. Library Journal https://www.libraryjournal.com/story/books-unbanned-still-growing-strong-more-than-two-years-after-launch

International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions [IFLA]. (2025). IFLA Trend Report 2024: Facing the future of information with confidence. https://repository.ifla.org/items/ae4dfcc0-8def-4318-8c4c-7f0507d15609

Lo, L. (2025, March 21). Trump’s attack on libraries was predictable. Its consequences could be devastating. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/21/trump-attack-libraries-devastating

Mikel, A., & Blackwell, M. (2023). Books Unbanned: Expanding access to content via library ebooks. Computers in libraries, 43(4). 22-27. https://primo.csu.edu.au/permalink/61CSU_INST/15aovd3/cdi_gale_infotracmisc_A748683312

[featherloom]

Seconding some of the comments recommending the iNaturalist app. Also check out your local public library - many have binoculars and other kits available for birdwatching or enjoying nature.

Not to sound like a fuckin hippie but please for the love of god start noticing and appreciating the natural world around you. You don’t have to go hike the entire Appalachian trail or anything and I get that not everyone has access to the outdoors for various reasons, but just fucking … look around you when you’re outside. Notice the sky and the sun and the birds and creatures. Start caring about them. I’m begging you.

[egophiliac]

the whole school is rallying together to give these boys the full princess experience, and I think that's beautiful! they would all rather die than work together on one single group project, but hell if they won't pull through when sparkly princess outfits are on the line. (I am sad that Grim doesn't get a little ribbon of his own, though. 😔)

also, the return of my favorite literal running joke, Vargas Meets an Immovable Object Face-First at 20 MPH

[lovertm]

pins by dustonmyboots

[violenceenthusiast]

the third edition of Julia Serano's foundational and ever-relevant Whipping Girl (the book in which the term 'transmisogyny' was coined!!) just came out, with a new afterword on the current anti-trans backlash and you can order a copy directly from her publisher using the code SERANO20 for 20% off through the end of march

[marivanilla05]

In the middle of exams so here are just some higher quality versions of my last sketches!

(There will be no context for Menelaus dressed as a seal and Helen doing drugs. If you know, you know.)

[mokeonn]

"But if college was free, then people would abuse that and get useless degrees" hell yeah I would! If I could go to college without debt I would make it my job to get a degree in every little thing that interested me. I'd get a doctorate in film studies. I'd have a bachelor's degree for every science I like. I'd try to learn at least 5 languages with varying results. I would learn something "useful" like coding and then follow it up with a ""useless"" degree like art history. I'd be the world record speed run holder for getting every degree possible.

But I can't afford college without going into massive debt, so instead I spent the last 5 years trying to figure out what I am passionate enough about to consider going into debt over, because unfortunately being passionate about everything is extremely expensive to pursue.

[hugsandchaos]

Here’s a list of times Danny has been spotted by the townspeople as Phantom outside of ghost fights!

1.) Laying down half asleep on a traffic light post, no one saw him fall

2.) Standing outside on the street during a big blizzard sipping what people are guessing was hot cocoa

3.) On the roof of Casper High looking at the sky

4.) In Casper High’s library browsing the outer space section

5.) In the park playing with a ghost puppy, who unfortunately kept turning into a large ghost dog and growling at anyone who tried to come close (it’s worth noting that Phantom kept trying to calm him down and apologizing, with the exception of Maddie, who seemed to make the ghost dog even angrier)

6.) Having a friendly chat with a large ghost wolf in the nearby woods

7.) On the street during a blizzard, waving at a large ghost resembling a yeti and going “Hi, dad! :D”

8.) Asleep on one of those couches in the local library with a book on astrophysics on his chest