This year’s library news featured as many plot twists and cliffhangers as a Dan Brown novel. Federal funding, the freedom to read, perpetual or temporary access to print and digital collections, and AI innovations saw new and unpredictable developments on a weekly basis. We looked at which stories—and their cliffhangers and sequels—got the most reader attention in 2025.
10. Library Database Providers Clash Over Subscription Models
Clarivate, the owner of ProQuest and other library and education brands, announced in February that it would phase out perpetual purchases and require libraries to lease content, in addition to investing strongly in AI tools for library users. Clarivate competitor EBSCO Information Services responded that it would continue to provide perpetual access, while also developing flexible models to meet client needs. In another top story, a startup explored open- and perpetual-access models for affordable, long-term collection development.
9. Florida Public Schools Remove Library Books, Fearing State Reprisal
PEN America, which warned this year of “expanded and escalated” book censorship across the U.S., noted that at least nine Florida counties removed hundreds of books from public school classrooms and libraries ahead of the 2025–2026 school year. Right-to-read advocates at PEN, the American Library Association, and other organizations tracked book challenges and called attention to “soft” censorship that’s chilling speech, even when some courts are ruling book removals unconstitutional.
8. Florida Court Upholds Freedom to Read in ‘PRH’ v. ‘Gibson’
The Big Five publishers, Sourcebooks, the Authors Guild, five authors, and two parents of Florida students filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida over the removal of public school library materials under House Bill 1069. They celebrated in August, when a federal judge found that withdrawing the library materials abridged First Amendment rights and declared, “None of these books are obscene.” Meanwhile, another Florida case concerning the removal of the picture book And Tango Makes Three—Peter Parnell v. School Board of Escambia County, Fla.—is on appeal with the Eleventh Circuit.
7. ReaderLink, B&T Call Off Deal
Early in September, ReaderLink announced that it would acquire the assets of library wholesaler Baker & Taylor and take on much of B&T’s staff, but that the wholesaler’s outstanding financial obligations would not be part of the deal. Publishers, suppliers, and others in the industry worried that B&T’s debts would go unpaid. Weeks later, ReaderLink and B&T called off the deal, and on October 6, B&T owner and CEO Aman Kochar announced that the wholesaler would shut down.
6. Appeals Court Reverses Ruling in Texas Book Ban Case
In May, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reversed the Western District of Texas’s preliminary injunction in Leila Green Little et al. v. Llano County, a public library book removal case; in doing so, the en banc Fifth Circuit also vacated the split 2–1 opinion of its own three-judge panel. The plaintiffs and several publishers and literary organizations asked the Supreme Court to take the case, but were disappointed this month when SCOTUS denied their petition for cert. This leaves public library patrons in the Fifth Circuit—Texas, Louisiana, and Mississippi—uncertain as to their First Amendment rights.
5. Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden Fired by White House
On May 8, Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden—who is among our 2025 PW Notables—received an email notifying her that she had been removed from her position, which she had held since 2016. The firing, which prompted outcry from librarians, defenders of intellectual freedom, and past National Ambassadors for Young People’s Literature, was the opening salvo in an ongoing battle between the U.S. executive and legislative branches over the leadership of the Library of Congress and Copyright Office.
4. IMLS Staffers Cry Foul as New Leadership Continues to ‘Slash and Burn’
On March 14, a Trump executive order instigated the dismantling of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, among other federal agencies. The National Museum and Library Services board wrote to the executive branch to explain the IMLS’s statutory mandate, and on April 3, the administration fired the board. With the undermining of the IMLS and its staff, statutory grants to states and competitive grants for libraries came under grave threat, and publishers urged Congress to defend libraries.
3. ALA Sues Over the Scuppering of the IMLS
On April 7, the American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, arguing that the firing of IMLS staff, terminating of grants, and hindering of organizational operations was unconstitutional. A federal judge has denied ALA and AFSCME the requested preliminary injunction, and the case is pending.
2. Federal Judge in Rhode Island Orders Halt to IMLS Dismantling
On April 4, 21 states’ attorneys general filed suit against the Trump administration in the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island, and by May 13, the plaintiffs were granted a preliminary injunction. An appeals court agreed with the district court, and by November, a permanent injunction was put in place by judge John J. McConnell Jr. of Rhode Island. As of December, the IMLS has restored competitive grant funding in compliance with the court order.
1. Libraries Look to Fill the Gap Left by Baker & Taylor
By the time an acquisition deal with ReaderLink fell through and B&T announced its plans to close, libraries that had been reliant on B&T were looking for alternatives. In 2026, we’ll be watching how other industry players including Ingram Content Group, Bookazine, Amazon, Follett Content, Mackin, and Barnes & Noble will adapt their library services.
