Katie's parents never told her "no" when she asked for a book, which was the start of most of her problems. She has an MLIS from the University of Illinois and works full time as a Circulation & Reference Manager in Illinois. She has a deep-rooted love of all things disturbing, twisted, and terrifying and takes enormous pleasure in creeping out her coworkers. When she's not at work, she's at home watching the Cubs with her cats and her cardigan collection. Other hobbies include scrapbooking, introducing more readers to the Church of Tana French, and convincing her husband that she can, in fact, fit more books onto her shelves.
Twitter: @kt_librarylady
Every day, it feels like just getting out of bed is a form of resistance. As I write this post on Sunday, September 28th, I’ve seen articles and TikTok videos from today, showing ICE agents with large weapons swarming downtown Chicago and making arrests. A top Border Patrol official was even quoted in the linked article saying that ICE agents are arresting people “based on how they look.” I’ve had serious discussions with a couple of my library colleagues about what to do if ICE agents show up at our library, since they have already been spotted in several nearby cities.
Staying informed is resistance for yourself, your libraries, and your patrons. I have no idea what the political landscape will look like by the time this post goes live in a week and a half, but here are some updates for the biggest issues impacting libraries right now.
AI Updates
- A judge has given preliminary approval for the Anthropic settlement, which had previously been delayed.
- OpenAI admits AI hallucinations are mathematically inevitable, not just a result of engineering flaws.
- Anthropic’s CEO gives a 25% chance for things to go “really, really badly” with AI. Great!
- How thousands of “overworked, underpaid” humans train Google’s AI to seem smart.
Trump vs. Publishing & Libraries
- International interlibrary loans vs. Trump’s tariffs.
- Well, that was fast. A federal judge has already tossed out Trump’s lawsuit against Penguin Random House and the New York Times. But I still want to share the statement that PEN America made in response to the lawsuit, which still resonates even if the lawsuit has been dismissed.
- Trump clears the way for American-owned TikTok valued at $14 billion. I don’t know if this actually fits the category of Trump vs. Publishing & Libraries, but it’s an alarming notion to think about the US government having unfettered access to TikTok data.
Check Your Shelf
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Censorship Updates
- The American Library Associations announces the Top 10 banned/challenged books of 2024. There’s very little about this list that’s new or surprising.
- PEN America shared their data on the most banned books in U.S. public schools during the 2024-2025 year.
- How grassroots activists are fighting for the right to read.
- How these lawyers are going on the offensive against book banning.
- Eight freedom to read cases to watch.
- We can’t forget people experiencing incarceration in our fight for readers’ rights.
- Leander ISD (TX) has pulled 40 books, including To Kill a Mockingbird, from the curriculum thanks to “anti-DEI” SB12.
- “Delaware enshrines the prevention of ideological book bans in public and school libraries and builds upon its laws protecting residents from freedom of speech lawsuits.”
- The Fairhope Library (AL), which has been involved in a two-year controversy over “inappropriate” books for children, must send a list of challenged books to state officials before funding is restored.
- The Taliban have baned books written by women from Afghan universities.
Resources for Latine Heritage Month
I know we can’t fight fascism with book lists, but in this climate, it’s so critical to continue showcasing the diversity of our collections and celebrating the historical heritage of federally targeted groups. Latine Heritage Month ends on October 15th, but inclusion and representation is celebrated all year long.
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