Research & Academic Scholarship

“I Don’t Think Librarians Can Save Us”: The Material Conditions of Information Literacy Instruction in the Misinformation Age

Despite increasing advocacy for open access (OA), its uptake in some disciplines has remained low. Existing studies have linked the low uptake of OA in the huma...

The aim of this case study was to empirically elucidate the core elements underpinning the legitimacy of twenty-first-century public libraries, with a particular focus on the New York Public Library (NYPL). We conducted a qualitative content analysis of 24 NYPL annual reports spanning the period from 2000 to 2023 to investigate the ways in which legitimacy is expressed at NYPL and explore the interrelationships among the dimensions of library legitimacy. A coding framework, grounded in the established legitimacy dimensions from Yamagishi, Koizumi, and Larsen’s (2024) research, was utilized alongside a periodization approach to assess how these dimensions interact during key historical events. We examined the NYPL’s reported practices through the lens of five primary dimensions of legitimacy. Analyzing how these practices are reported in annual reports revealed how these dimensions interact and evolve in response to significant societal challenges, including the 9/11 attacks, the global financial crisis, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The research findings highlight the critical role of both internal factors (such as librarianship) and external influences (such as economic conditions) in sustaining the overall legitimacy of public libraries. This case study provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the complex and dynamic nature of legitimacy in public libraries and demonstrates how these institutions can adapt to and reflect broader societal changes. The findings hold important implications for the development and management of public libraries on a global scale.

Carla Hayden, the former Librarian of Congress fired by President Donald Trump, has joined the the country's foremost philanthropic supporter of the arts.

The American Bar Association (ABA) is maintaining its commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) despite intensified political pressure from the Trump administration and recent legal developments that have challenged the organization’s authority and policies. During a recent forum in Cleveland, ABA leadership reaffirmed the association’s belief that DEI is essential to the excellence and […]

This work provides information to members and prospective members of the law librarian profession on the status, rights, and responsibilities of academic law li

Inclusive Leadership: Perspectives From Academic Library Leaders

Threats to DEI are only growing stronger, with continued plans to introduce bills in the next legislative session, and attacks occurring on the accreditation front. Use our interactive dashboard to keep track of the evolving attacks on DEI across the states.

This document is the result of a year of work and collaboration by the Trans Metadata Collective (TMDC; https://transmetadatacollective.org/), a group of dozens of cataloguers, librarians, archivists, scholars, and information professionals with a concerted interest in improving the description and classification of trans and gender diverse people in GLAMS (Galleries, Libraries, Archives, Museums and Special Collections). The Collective’s primary goal was to develop a set of best practices for the description, cataloguing, and classification of information resources as well as the creation of metadata about trans and gender diverse people, including authors and other creators

Georgia is considering a bill aimed at preventing children from accessing explicit library material. Opponents say it would chill free speech

Penguin Random House LLC et al v. Gibson et al (6:24-cv-01573), Florida Middle District Court, Filed: 08/29/2024

By: Matt Nosanchuk, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Strategic Operations and Outreach, Office for Civil Rights, U.S. Department of Education All students deserve access to learning environments that are inclusive and free from discrimination and that nurture their intellect, wellbeing, and creativity, preparing them for success in school and beyond. Books have been the gateway toContinue Reading

The American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) has released new data documenting book challenges throughout the United States, finding that challenges of unique titles surged 65% in 2023 compared to 2022 numbers, reaching the highest level ever documented by ALA. Read the full announcement. OIF documented 4,240 unique book titles targeted for censorship, more than the previous two years combined (2,571 in 2022; 1,651 in 2021), as well as 1,247 demands to censor library books, materials, and resources in 2023.

They care deeply and can't be fired. Retired librarians are bringing experience and passion to the cause of intellectual freedom. With advocacy skills training and opportunities to mentor, retirees could become even more powerful assets.

In the Past and Present, They’ve Fought Book Bans and Censorship.

What happens when large language models are asked to provide justifications for book bans? Do the same built-in guardrails that prevent them from generating ...

From the Des Moines Register: The small farming community of Alta in northwest Iowa barely has 2,000 residents. The elementary school that shares its name has fewer than 300 students. Neither is big enough to have a quality library on its own. So for the last 20 years, the two have operated a library together, […]

PEN America, a U.S.-based nonprofit organization dedicated to free expression through literature, has created a dataset tracking books banned or restricted in school classrooms and libraries in the United States from July 2021 to March 2022. The dataset contains the book’s name and author, the schoo

From a Joint Announcement (via Harvard Library): The HBCU Library Alliance and Harvard Library this week announced a project to sustain and deepen capacity for the digitization, discovery, and preservation of African American history collections held in HBCU libraries and archives. Harvard’s support for the HBCU Library Alliance’s ongoing work is a step in addressing […]

UPDATED POST: A Tip Sheet for Librarians Facing Harassment (via PEN America) This guidance is intended to equip librarians with strategies to navigate online abuse. While this resource acknowledges the ways that online abuse can move offline, it is primarily focused on digital safety. For a discussion of physical safety in libraries, see: “We Need […]

The ABA Journal is read by half of the nation's 1 million lawyers every month. It covers the trends, people and finances of the legal profession from Wall Street to Main Street to Pennsylvania Avenue.

From The Chicago Tribune: Last week, city and Chicago Public Library officials declared Chicago a sanctuary city for those stories, by establishing “Book Sanctuaries” across the city’s 77 distinct community areas and 81 library branches. That entails a commitment to expand local access to banned or challenged books through library programming. [Clip] Chicago Public Library […]

Statement from the AAU Board of Directors.

A University of California at Los Angeles grant story from the Mellon Foundation.

There are currently more than 30 bills across the U.S. targeting diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives at public colleges.

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Policies in academic libraries, whether formal or informal, external or internal, carry high levels of importance for the functioning of the library. …