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Betsy Gomez writes: “ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has released two reports providing additional detailed insights from 2025, the year with the highest level of library censorship ever documented in the US.
The reports are derived from additional analysis of the
2025 data that was announced during this year’s National Library Week.
One report focuses on censorship activities that took place at
public libraries, and the other examines censorship at
school libraries. Each report includes an overview of significant changes and trends, data on threats to intellectual freedom at public libraries or schools, and details on the censorship of books.”...
Intellectual Freedom Blog, Aug.
5
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Lauren Busser writes: “Designing a new website is about more than just aesthetics.
It’s also a time to consider what is and isn’t currently working for your audience.
Analytics can help you make some suggestions, but engaging your audience in the design process can help uncover aspects of your website that you’ve never considered. Over the last two years, I have been engaging the community at Fairfield (Conn.) University to aid in redesigning the DiMenna-Nyselius Library website.
These are a few exercises we conducted that got us talking about ways to make meaningful change.”...
Choice 360 LibTech Insights, Aug.
10
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Courtney Pentland writes: “Every school in the country should be equipped with a specially trained, built-in literacy partner. If you do not have the benefit of a certified school librarian, the following information may inspire you to advocate on behalf of your school community to include this indispensable educator as part of your teaching faculty.
If you are lucky enough to have a school librarian just down the hall from you, then these ideas may help them help you support the literacy goals for your learners.”...
Knowledge Quest, Aug.
11
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Join ALA and libraries across the country in celebrating National Voter Registration Day on September 15. Voter registration events, civic information hubs, and deadline reminders are just a few ways that libraries help voters make their voices heard in local, state, and federal elections.
Sign up as a community partner by August 31 to receive free event materials, and visit ALA’s
Reader. Voter. Ready. initiative for inspiration ahead of this fall’s elections.
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M Roberts writes: “August 4 marked one year in my role at Vanderbilt.
The time has flown by! One of my goals for the summer was to reflect on my first year as a librarian and to plan for the second year based on what I’d learned. Although I haven’t had as much time for that reflection as I’d hoped, for my final post as a First-Year Academic Librarian blogger, I wanted to share a few lessons learned that I’m planning to build on during the upcoming year.”...
ACRLog, Aug. 10
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Michael Cairns writes: “For more than a decade, trade publishers pushed a consistent narrative: Library patrons are freeloading on ebooks, and unrestricted digital lending has/can/will cannibalize consumer sales.
It’s a tidy disaster scenario, but not supported by data.
Consumer ebook revenue has been declining for structural reasons that have nothing to do with library circulation since 2014. Meanwhile, the prevailing digital licensing architecture effectively taxes library patrons for accessing a public service and pushes library budgets past the breaking point.”...
Personanondata, Aug. 4
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Austyn Szempruch writes: “With Florida’s homestead exemption amendment appearing poised to be voted into law in November, the Hernando County Board of County Commissioners are looking to be proactive in making the cuts necessary for staying under budget.
The tentative 2027 budget was set to shutter West Hernando Library to save upwards of $500,000. Due in large part to more than a thousand emails, and the fervent opposition of more than 30 residents at the county’s special budget meeting August 6, the board unanimously voted 4–0 for a budget that included keeping the popular local library.”...
Hernando (Fla.) Sun, Aug. 7
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“The Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation (PALCI) has published the
PALCI Guide to Interoperability and System Selection, a resource to help academic and research libraries evaluate whether new systems will support open standards and effective collaboration before contracts are signed.
The guide walks readers through what interoperability means in practice; why it matters for cost, flexibility, and long-term access; and what open standards, as opposed to closed proprietary interfaces, allow libraries to do that closed systems don’t.”...
Partnership for Academic Library Collaboration and Innovation, Aug.
4
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Jeff Lang writes: “For too many of us, conversations about accessibility in scholarly communication begin and end with alt text.
While text descriptions are an important accommodation, they represent just one element of a much broader challenge: ensuring that research can be understood by the widest possible audience.
The goal is not simply to make content available, but to communicate ideas effectively across different abilities, contexts, and modes of engagement.
This is the foundation of open science and a core tenet of universities, funders, scholarly societies, and many others.”...
Katina, Aug. 4
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“It’s one of the realities of the profession.
On any given day, we wear all kinds of hats.
We often move from one role to the next without even thinking about it.
Wearing different hats is one of the reasons that many of us love library work.
Every day brings something different, new challenges, and opportunities to make a difference in our communities.
Finding balance isn’t only about discovering the work that brings you joy.
It’s also about recognizing that you don’t have to carry everything by yourself.”...
Compassionate Librarian, Aug.
7
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Savannah Long writes: “Regardless of your individual experience with animals coming into your library, all libraries—law libraries included—should have an animal policy.
For some libraries, that may simply be a policy explicitly stating that only service animals are permitted, in accordance with federal law; however, I believe that a more in-depth policy is beneficial, and this post will discuss various elements to consider when drafting your own policy.
To further assist in this process, I have written a
sample animal policy for law libraries to use as a template.”...
RIPS Law Librarian Blog, Aug.
5
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Radu Tyrsina writes: “In recent years, Google has made significant changes that have particularly impacted publishers and other content creators. At the same time, we’ve witnessed the rise of alternative search engines. Although Google continues to dominate the market, there are many reasons you might consider exploring other options. We’ve compiled and tested a list of alternatives in our environment.”...
Search Engine Watch, Aug. 9
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Lauren Quinlan writes: “Between 1893 and 1919, Andrew Carnegie gave away $60 million of his fortune to fund 1,689 public libraries across the country.
These ‘Carnegie libraries’ became cultural centers in towns big and small and were instrumental in constructing the blueprint of small-town America as we know it today.
These towns were often so proud of these monuments of culture that they distributed postcards celebrating the new library.
Many of these postcards, along with thousands of other postcards of libraries around the world, are housed at the ALA Archives.”...
ALA150, Aug. 11
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