Social Movements & the Law

Statement from the AAU Board of Directors.

For decades, the Internet Archive has preserved our digital history. Lately, journalists and ordinary citizens have been turning to it more than ever, as the Trump administration undertakes an ideologically-driven purge of government websites. But the Archive itself faces an existential threat. In this episode, Close All Tabs Senior Editor Chris Egusa joins Morgan to discuss his visit to the Internet Archive and its colorful founder Brewster Kahle, the legal battles that could shut it down perma

The Trump administration's erasure of federal data has put the Internet Archive in the spotlight. The organization, with its small but mighty team, is working to help save the world's digital history.

Here is the full list of books removed from the U.S. Naval Academy’s library collection March 31-April 1. LINK HERE

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

When Brigitte Weinsteiger became the vice provost and director of the Penn Libraries last year, she took the helm of what she characterizes as “one of the most consequential research libraries in the country.” With 19 libraries, 300-plus staff, a $95 million budget, and 10 million volumes across print and digital formats, she now leads an intellectual ecosystem that reaches across Penn’s campus and beyond.

While individual colleges have been relatively quiet, groups like the American Council on Education and the American Association of University Professors are fighting the administration in the courts.

The administration’s research funding and DEI cuts present an existential threat to regional public universities like Southern Illinois University, the economic backbone of the conservative rural region it serves.

President Trump signed an executive order “Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History” on March 27 directing action at the Smithsonian Institution and public monuments, including Independence Hall, to reverse and remove public scholarship and activity related to race and gender in particular, characterized in the order as “divisive narratives” and “improper ideology.”

Data losses have impacted professors’ research and led to concerns about the future of federal data.

You’ve spoken up. Now it’s time to lead. Here are simple, powerful ways to boldly advocate for issues that matter to you.

The American Library Association (ALA) today released the highly anticipated Top 10 Most Challenged Books List.

Through clever usage of APIs, the Library Innovation Lab at Harvard Law School has created an archive of Data.gov, home to 311,000 public datasets

U.S. officials say the U.S. Naval Academy has removed nearly 400 books from its library after being told by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s office to review and get rid of books that promote diversity, equity and inclusion.

Prudent state-level stakeholders should be engaging with their state legislators, particularly on appropriations, finance, budget, or ways and means committees, about federal FY2025 IMLS funding contingencies.

The "Restoring Truth and Sanity to American History" order removes "divisive, race-centered ideology" from Smithsonian museums, educational and research centers, and the National Zoo.

Join us and our member libraries in celebrating Women’s History during the month of March. Below is a roundup of events, blog posts, exhibits, and other resources that showcase opportunities...

The Scholarly Communication & Information Policy (SCIP) office is pleased to announce the release of our comprehensive Oral History Agreement Toolkit—a collection of templates, guidance documents, and resources designed to help transform how institutions approach oral history agreements. Why We

On Friday night, March 14, President Trump issued an Executive Order that called for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and six other agencies. In FY24, the IMLS budget was $294.8 million, of which more than $211 million was dedicated to library services through the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA), the leading source of federal funding for America’s libraries. According to a statement from the American Library Association (ALA), “Libraries translate .003 percent of the federal budget into programs and services used by more than 1.2 billion people each year.”

We will continue to update this roundup as we learn of additional statements.  Latest Additions (Last Update: 9:00am; March 27, 2025) Most Recent Addition Bolded Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) iFederation Lyrasis Sen. Jack Reed Leads Bipartisan Effort to Preserve Support for Public Libraries & Museums ALA Applauds Bipartisan Opposition To Attempt To Eliminate […]

Nearly 60 days into his second term in office, Trump followed through on his campaign promise to dismantle the Department of Education. Now it’s up to Congress to decide if the agency will be abolished entirely.

Attacking colleges and universities has reverberations far beyond campuses.

A federal judge says Iowa for now cannot continue to enforce part of its book ban law. The decision Tuesday gives major publishers that sued the state their latest temporary reprieve.

When forces unite with no care for the Constitution, the rule of law or anything you learned in civics class, you can end up with the entrenched overreach of the Plenary Power Doctrine.

Desai's new research explores the interplay between employment and labor laws, immigration law and policy, and the vulnerability of migrant children

PEN America stands at the intersection of literature and human rights to protect free expression in the United States and worldwide. We champion the freedom to write, recognizing the power of the word to transform

The AAUP is a nonprofit membership association of faculty and other academic professionals. Headquartered in Washington, DC, we have members and chapters based at colleges and universities across the country. Since our founding in 1915, the AAUP has helped to shape American higher education by developing the standards and procedures that maintain quality in education and academic freedom in this country's colleges and universities. We define fundamental professional values and standards for higher education, advance the rights of academics, particularly as those rights pertain to academic freedom and shared governance, and promote the interests of higher education teaching and research. AAUP chapters at campuses across the country work to advance the mission of the AAUP through advocacy, organizing and, in some cases, collective bargaining. In some states, state conferences support chapters and work on state level issues. Our sister organization, the AAUP Foundation, is a public charity; it funds, through its grant-making process, the charitable and educational purposes of the AAUP, including support for academic freedom and quality higher education.

Americans of Conscience Checklist is an email checklist for democracy, voting access, equality for ALL and good news for the American people.