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April 9, 2026

ALA and AFSCME Prevail in Fight to Protect Libraries and Museums Nationwide

On April 9, 2026, the American Library Association (ALA) – the largest library association in the world – and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) – the nation’s largest union of cultural workers – reached a settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice that protects the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and ensures the agency will continue carrying out its congressionally mandated work.

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New wave of bills targeting libraries is ‘a threat to our democracy,’ American Library Association warns

The association, founded in 1876, condemned legislation that would threaten librarians and other educators with criminal prosecution for possessing “obscene” material.
 

 

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School Library Research- Research Journal of the American Association of School Librarians

AASL Opens Call for School Library Research Editorial Board Members

CHICAGO – The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) seeks a dynamic group of school library practitioners, educators, and researchers to serve on the School Library Research (SLR) Editorial Board. School Library Research advances the profession...

ALSC releases 2026 Summer Reading Lists

Meet the 2026 summer reading lists from ALSC. Free to download and packed with book and digital media recommendations that appeal to young people (ages birth to 14), these lists will help keep children reading and exploring all summer.

ALA American Library Association

2026 Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity Winner- Mary Anne Antonellis

CHICAGO - The 2026 Lemony Snicket Prize for Noble Librarians Faced with Adversity is awarded to Mary Anne Antonellis, Director of the Shutesbury Public Library in Massachusetts.

ALA American Library Association

American Library Association releases 2025 Most Challenged Books List as National Library Week Begins

State of America’s Libraries Report reveals 4,235 unique titles challenged in 2025, marking the second-highest total on record

ALA American Library Association

American Library Association Applauds Congressional Efforts to Expand Library Access for Incarcerated Individuals

The American Library Association (ALA) welcomes the introduction of the Prison Libraries Act, bicameral legislation aimed at expanding access to library services and educational opportunities for people who are incarcerated.

2026 Beta Phi Mu Award Winner- Dr. Laura Saunders

Dr. Laura Saunders, Associate Dean and Professor of the Simmons University’s School of Library and Information Science in Boston and Director of the Simmons Center for Information Literacy has been selected as the 2026 recipient of the Beta Phi Mu Award.

2026 W.Y. Boyd Literary Novel Award Winner- Robert Inman for the book "Villages"

CHICAGO — Villages by Robert Inman is the winner of the 2026 W.Y. Boyd Literary Novel Award “for excellence in military fiction.” The book was published by Livingston Press, an imprint of The University of West Alabama in 2025.

Page to Practice AASL Book Club

AASL Launches “Page to Practice” Book Club to Transform Professional Reading into Action

CHICAGO- The American Association of School Librarians (AASL) announces the launch of the AASL Page to Practice Book Club, a new online professional learning community designed to help school librarians and K–12 educators turn professional reading into...

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Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table Announces Recipient of the 2026 Oni Press GNCRT Comics Librarian Conference Travel Grant

The American Library Association's Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table (GNCRT) is excited to announce Christa Bell as the winner of the 2026 Oni Press GNCRT Comics Librarian Conference Travel Grant. Christa Bell is a K–12 Library Media Specialist in the...

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Terrebonne Parish Library System (Houma, La.) and Union (N.J). Public Library Awarded ALA’s Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) has awarded its seventh annual Libraries Transform Communities Engagement Grant to Terrebonne Parish Library System in Houma, La., and Union (N.J.) Public Library. The winning libraries will use the grant...

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Academic, K-12 and Tribal Library Awarded ALA’s 2026 Peggy Barber Tribute Grant for Programs to Strengthen Community Through Libraries as Third Spaces

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) has awarded its 2026 Peggy Barber Tribute Grant, a programming grant named after the transformative ALA leader, to Fresno (Calif.) State Library, Lafayette County C-1 School District, Higginsville, Mo. and...

2026 ALA EBSCO Information Services Library Staff Development Award Winner- Olympic Library Leadership Incubator

CHICAGO —The American Library Association (ALA) is pleased to announce that the 2026 ALA EBSCO Information Services Library Staff Development Award has been awarded to the Washington Library Association (WLA) for the Olympic Library Leadership Incubator (OLLI) program

ALA American Library Association

2026 Scholastic Library Publishing Award Winner - Rachel G. Payne

CHICAGO — Rachel G. Payne has been named the 2026 winner of ALA’s Scholastic Library Publishing Award.

2026 Joseph W. Lippincott Award Winner - Sara Kelly Johns

CHICAGO — Sara Kelly Johns is the recipient of the 2026 Joseph W. Lippincott Award. This award is sponsored by Joseph W. Lippincott III and presented by the American Library Association (ALA) for distinguished service in the profession of librarianship.

Jessie Commerce receives AASL Frances Henne Award

CHICAGO – Jessie Commerce, assistant librarian at Salem Church Middle School in Richmond, Virginia, is the recipient of the 2026 American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Frances Henne Award. Sponsored by Bloomsbury Libraries Unlimited, the $1,250...