-

IMLS Restores Competitive Grant Funding
In response to a U.S. District Court’s permanent injunction in State of Rhode Island v. Trump, the Institute of Museum and Library Services announced that it “has reinstated all federal grants.”
-

Coalition Protests Tennessee’s Directive to Public Libraries
Literary organizations, publishers, libraries, and right to read advocates have cosigned a letter of concern to Tennessee Secretary of State Tre Hargett, who earlier this month directed 211 public libraries to review their youth materials for “age-appropriateness” by January 19.
-

In November's School Board Elections, Voters Stood with Librarians
From New Hampshire to New Mexico, voters sided with educators, librarians, and unions and ushered in candidates with liberal leanings to their local school boards.
-

ALA Welcomes New Executive Director
Daniel J. Montgomery takes the helm at the American Library Association today, with priorities that include federal and state funding, civic partnerships, AI competencies, and anti-censorship advocacy.
-

B&T Rails Against ‘Fast Tracking’ Federal Case
Baker & Taylor responded on November 6 to setting a scheduling conference and expedited briefing schedule in ‘OCLC v. B&T,’ which is being heard in a U.S. District Court in Columbus, Ohio, and could decide the fate of the cataloging system BTCat.
-

‘OCLC v. B&T’ Moves Forward in Ohio District Court
Nonprofit library organization OCLC, which sued Baker & Taylor over its creation of BTCat in March, has asked a federal judge to set a schedule now that the 30-day stay issued in October has expired.
-

Will SCOTUS Take Up Texas’s Book Banning Case?
Publishers and freedom-to-read advocates are supporting plaintiffs in Little v. Llano County by encouraging the Supreme Court to review a First Amendment decision by the Fifth Circuit.
-

PW Spotlight: The Indie Author Project
The Indie Author Project is streamlining how libraries and indie authors connect in the growing self-publishing space. (Sponsored)
-

B&N Touts Library Services
Barnes & Noble is promoting its &Classwork e-commerce portal to libraries as another alternative to fill the void created by the shutdown of Baker & Taylor.
-

Virginia District Judge Orders DoDEA to Restore School Books
Judge Patricia Tolliver Giles granted a preliminary injunction on October 20 ordering five Department of Defense Education Activity schools to cease implementation of three presidential executive orders that removed books from school shelves and to return titles that had been removed.
-

Concrete Data on Urban Libraries: PW Talks with Femi Adelakun
The ULC, a public library advocacy group, recently studied five metropolitan flagship libraries to find
out how downtown locations can revitalize city centers. -

Follett Content, Mackin Enter the Public Library Market
The two companies have long histories serving the school library market and are now gearing up to expand their services to the public library sector following the collapse of Baker & Taylor.
-

Libraries Look to Fill the Gap Left by Baker & Taylor
With the closure of the country’s largest library wholesaler now underway, librarians are searching for new options as Ingram, Bookazine, and even Amazon make a play to court B&T customers left in the lurch.
-

‘Tango’ Plaintiffs Plan an Appeal to the 11th Circuit
And Tango Makes Three authors Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, whose First Amendment claim against Florida’s Escambia County School Board was dismissed in federal court last week, will appeal to restore their picture book to public school library shelves.
-

U.S. Faces ‘Expanded and Escalated’ Book Censorship, PEN America Reports
PEN America has released its annual report on the book banning crisis in K–12 public schools, naming the top five most banned titles and authors. PEN found that “the campaign to censor books is increasingly routine,” with Florida, Texas, and Tennessee leading the nation in instances of banning.
-

Court Order Halting Gutting of IMLS Upheld by Appeals Court
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit denied a request by defendants in Rhode Island v. Trump to stay a May 13 preliminary injunction that formally ordered a halt to the dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
-

As Censorship Escalates, Little Free Library Updates Its Book Ban Map
The literacy nonprofit’s interactive Book Ban Map now includes the latest data on censored books at state and county levels, supplied by the ALA and PEN America, as well as the locations of its book-sharing boxes.
-

On Appeal, Copyright Chief Shira Perlmutter Keeps Her Job
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has granted the register of copyrights an injunction pending appeal, allowing Perlmutter to remain in her position despite the Trump administration’s efforts to fire her.
-

Proposed IMLS Budget Passes Appropriations Committees
FY2026 funding for the Institute of Museum and Library Services has cleared two legislative hurdles, with the House and Senate Appropriations Committees both endorsing a $291,800,000 agency budget. The next step is a vote by the full House and Senate.
-

National Book Festival Crowds Out Troubling Times
The Library of Congress’s 25th annual event on Saturday enlightened and entertained tens of thousands of book lovers, perhaps distracting momentarily from the political pressures facing the world’s largest library.



