Elizabeth Kim , Gothamist; Mayor Mamdani restores library funding after public outcry
"Mayor Zohran Mamdani is turning the page on a plan that would have cut funding to New York City libraries...
But library supporters wasted no time mobilizing against the cuts. NYC PLAN, which is made up of library patrons and staff members, held a rally for libraries in March. They also launched an online campaign describing the mayor’s preliminary budget as “terrible” for the city’s libraries."
American Libraries; Barnes Wins 2027–2028 ALA Presidency
"Tamika Barnes, associate dean of Perimeter College Library Services at Georgia State University in Atlanta, has been elected 2026–2027 president-elect of the American Library Association (ALA). The Association made the announcement April 6.
Barnes received 3,827 votes, while her opponent, Becky Calzada, district library coordinator at Leander (Tex.) Independent School District, received 2,742 votes...
In her candidate statement published in American Libraries in March, Barnes pledged that her presidency would focus on four pillars: unified advocacy; inclusive leadership and professional growth; equity, access, and intellectual freedom; and transparency and stewardship.
“I have seen firsthand how ALA’s values of equity, diversity, inclusion, intellectual freedom, and social responsibility are lived out every day by library workers across the country,” Barnes wrote. “These values have shaped my own leadership, which is collaborative, grounded in integrity, and centered on community impact.”
She will assume presidency of ALA at the conclusion of the 2027 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans."
The Florida Bar; GEORGE C. YOUNG AMERICAN INNS OF COURT EXPLORES ETHICS AND PITFALLS OF AI IN THE COURTROOM
"The George C. Young American Inns of Court continued its ongoing focus on artificial intelligence with a recent program titled, “The Use of AI to Craft Openings, Closings, and Directing Cross-Examination: Ethical Imperatives and Practical Realities.”...
Demonstrations showed that many members could not distinguish AI-generated narratives from those written by humans, highlighting the technology’s increasingly high-quality output. However, presenters also noted recurring drawbacks. AI-generated direct and cross-examinations frequently included prohibited or incorrect elements such as hearsay, compound questioning, and fabricated details — jokingly referred to as “ghost people” — distinguishing factual hallucinations from the better-known “phantom citation” problem.
The program concluded with a reminder that while AI may streamline drafting and help lawyers think creatively, professional judgment cannot be outsourced. The ultimate responsibility for accuracy, ethics, and advocacy remains with the lawyer."
EZRA LEVIN and LEAH GREENBERG , The Nation; How to Organize Our Way Out of the Trump-Musk Putsch
"For the millions of Americans now desperate to reclaim our democracy from the plutocratic vandalism of the second Trump administration, the main challenge before us is simple: We have to unify and fight back. This isn’t new and it isn’t rocket science—the one thing we know from historical fights against authoritarians is that success depends on a persistent, courageous, broad-based, and unified opposition. What that should look like and what that demands of each of us is the heart of the new movement to defeat a more disciplined and lawless Trump White House, but before we get to where we’re going, we have to start with where we are.
We run a national pro-democracy grassroots movement organization that’s been helping to marshal local volunteer groups against Trumpism for nearly a decade. Trump’s innovation in his second term is his strategic alignment with neoreactionary forces personified in Elon Musk. As one underground memo circulating in pro-democracy circles recently explained, the neoreactionary goal is “replacing the existing Constitutional system with a privatized state structure akin to a corporation, with a monarch-like figure at the top modeled after a CEO.” It’s no wonder that historians like Timothy Snyder and Heather Cox Richardson are raising the alarm about a boiling constitutional crisis...
A week after the election, we published Indivisible: A Guide to Democracy on the Brink, an open-source handbook for building nationwide opposition to the coming authoritarian takeover. The first step: total opposition to Trump’s Project 2025...
We’re under no illusion that any senator or representative can summon forth the opposition on their own. It’s up to each of us to try, and learn, and improve, and build. Constituents should be organizing in their own communities as engaged neighbors, pro-democracy volunteers, and educators. Rank-and-file Democrats should be feeding off that energy and harnessing its power. And Democrats in leadership should be corralling their caucuses to produce a unified front with aggressive, creative tactics and messaging. Nobody has all the answers, and we’re all going to have to try, fail, go back to the drawing board, and try again.
These are frightening times, and frightening times call for active, courageous leadership. Musk and Trump are really seeking to annex the operations of the state to their pet vanity projects, bigotries, and conspiracy theories , but our enemy is not one or two men. Our enemy is apathy, cynicism, and fatalism; the pernicious, authoritarian-friendly belief that we are merely victims of world events rather than active participants in a global struggle for freedom and justice. Every time one of us—a family member, a community organizer, a representative, a senator—takes a step forward in this fight, a thousand pairs of eyes watch and learn. Courage is contagious.
Take that step, and steel yourself with the knowledge that you are the defender of a 250-year experiment in self-governance—a real-life pluralistic democracy, imperfect as it is, striving to be more perfect. Our predecessors deposed a brain-addled king; they crushed the violent insurrectionists of a slaveholding confederacy; they forced the robber barons to contend with workers and unions; they kicked the Nazis’ asses throughout Europe; they broke the back of the southern segregationist political bloc; they fought back against the terrorizing forces at Stonewall. We have planted ourselves in stubborn opposition to monomaniacal fascists of one form or another for a quarter of a millennium. No entitled reality-TV has-been backed by an addle-brained billionaire who cheats at video games is going to roll over us now.
We will not finish this fight, but we can each be damn sure to do our part while we’re here. Together, we are the opposition, and this is our republic—if we can keep it. This is the part where we keep it."
Matthew Carey, Deadline ; ‘The Librarians’ EP Sarah Jessica Parker On The Spread Of Book Banning: “It’s A Fear Of Children Having Information” – Sundance Studio
"TITLE: The Librarians
Section: Premieres
Director: Kim A. Snyder
Logline: As an unprecedented wave of book banning is sparked in Texas, Florida, and beyond, librarians who find themselves under siege join forces as unlikely defenders in the fight for intellectual freedom on the front lines of democracy. Kim A. Snyder (Us Kids, 2020 Sundance Film Festival) takes us to an unexpected front line where librarians emerge as first responders in the fight for democracy and free access to information."
Danny Connolly, Theodora Koulouvaris, WCIA.com;
"A public library district in Sangamon and Christian Counties faces dozens of ethics complaints accusing officials of using their government office to promote a referendum."
Lisa Peet , Library Journal; Speaking Up: Lisa Varga Is LJ’s 2024 Librarian of the Year
"Libraries in the Commonwealth of Virginia are fortunate to have the Virginia Library Association (VLA) on their side. Among other services, VLA provides continuing education to members through meetings, workshops, and two annual conferences; maintains the VLA Jobline and listserv; publishes the Virginia Libraries journal; sponsors several awards and scholarships; advocates for state and local funding; and supports libraries and individuals confronting intellectual freedom challenges."
Olivia Empson, The Guardian; Get on the bus: banned books tour hits the road, from New York to Texas
"The New Republic partnered with organizations like House of SpeakEasy and the American Federation of Teachers for the bookmobile tour and hopes to use it as a way to fight back against censorship. Organizers plan to hand out 20,000 books as they pass through the likes of Florida, Virginia, Missouri and Kentucky – a route chosen to align with the recent PEN data."
Megan Bennett, American Libraries; LeVar Burton
Press Release; Wolf Administration: Supporting Libraries Supports Our Communities
"Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE) Executive Deputy Secretary Dr. Debora Carrera and Deputy Secretary for the Office of Commonwealth Libraries Susan Banks today visited the Free Library of Philadelphia to advocate for continued library funding and highlight the role libraries play in communities across the commonwealth.
“Libraries play a critical role in supporting their residents, visitors, and communities,” said Dr. Carrera. “It is imperative that we ensure continued funding to help libraries like the Free Library of Philadelphia continue to provide invaluable services to learners of all ages, backgrounds, and walks of life.”
In his 2022-23 budget proposal, Governor Tom Wolf has requested a $1.25 million increase for libraries, including a $1 million increase in the Public Library Subsidy. The subsidy goes directly to local libraries, library systems, 29 district library centers, and provides every Pennsylvanian access to statewide resource center libraries at State Library of Pennsylvania, the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, the Free Library of Philadelphia, and the libraries of The Pennsylvania State University.
“The Free Library is a significant resource for all Pennsylvanians, and especially for residents of Philadelphia who depend on the library for key services such as computer access, internet connection, afterschool programs, and access to materials both in person and online that educate, enlighten, and entertain,” said Kelly Richards, President and Director of the Free Library of Philadelphia. “Now more than ever, it is important to invest in libraries as centers of their communities and safe spaces for their residents.”'
Just as you wouldn’t imagine a community that doesn’t have parks, rec centres, and sports fields to nurture its citizens’ physical needs, you can’t have a complete community without libraries to nurture their mental needs."
Patrick Wintour, The Guardian ; The phone has become the Ukrainian president’s most effective weapon
"One leader’s office said: “We are in awe of him. He may not eventually be able to save Ukraine, or change Russia, but he is changing Europe.”
Take Saturday’s diplomacy. Zelensky said he opened another day on the diplomatic frontline with a phone call to Emmanuel Macron, followed as the day progressed with calls to the European Commission’s president, Ursula von der Leyen, the Italian prime minister, Mario Draghi, the president of Switzerland, Ignazio Cassis, the prime minister of India, Narendra Modi, the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the Azerbaijani president, Ilham Aliyev, the Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, the UN secretary general, António Guterres, the German chancellor, Olaf Scholz, the Pope, the Czech prime minister, Petr Fiala, the Polish president, Andrzej Duda, and finally a virtual nightcap with the British prime minister.
The day before, the number of calls was similar, all focused on requests for arms and tougher sanctions. Quite how Zelenskiy managed to make these calls, rally the home front, direct his army and sleep is hard to fathom. One who has heard him in action says: “He is very direct, very passionate and very practical.” But the calls have produced golden rewards for Zelenskiy and helped turn the tide."
