These Were The Most Challenged Books in the US Last Year, According to the American Library Association These were the top 11 most challenged books in American libraries in 2025, according to the American Library Association.

The American Library Association has named the Top 11 Most Challenged Books of 2025: bookriot.com/alas-most-ch...

Image of announcement for a session at The 15th National Conference on Higher Education in Prison. Session title is Unlocking Access: ADA, Accessibility, and Assistive Technologies in Carceral Classrooms and Libraries. Images and information of presenters, including names, positions, affiliations, and pronouns.

One week until I get to moderate this panel of amazing people at the 15th National Conference on Higher Education in Prison hosted by Alliance for Higher Education in Prison!

#NCHEP15 #HigherEducationInPrison #Accessibility #CarceralEducation #Libraries

Manipulating the Law: Dismantling the Miller Test and Exploiting the “Government Speech” Doctrine: Book Censorship News, March 27, 2026 The Miller Test and "government speech" doctrine have become tools by book banners, but they're being used to steal your rights.

The Miller Test and "government speech" doctrine have become tools used by book banners to manipulate the law and steal your rights: bookriot.com/manipulating...

In really good news, Alaska's Freedom to Read bill has advanced. If you're in Alaska, continue to reach out to your representatives about this one: www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/D...

"I Will Not Comply": Librarian Luann James Fights Censorship Demands of Rutherford County Library System's Board Rutherford County Library System's director continues to fight back against a library board that demands she remove books, share private info.

“I Will Not Comply”: Librarian Luann James Fights Censorship Demands of Rutherford County Library System’s Board

RCLS's director continues to fight back against a library board that demands she remove books, share private info.

This is the job, folks!

bookriot.com/librarian-lu...

Google Has a Secret Reference Desk. Here's How to Use It. 40 Google features to find exactly what you need, the alternative search engines that do things Google won't, and the reference desk framework underneath all of it.

I know this has circulated with alacrity recently, so you may have already seen it, but if you haven't... WOW BOY HOWDY it's the most useful thing.

Thank you cardcatalogforlife.substack.com -- this is a very very very helpful public service:

cardcatalogforlife.substack.com/p/google-has...

School book banning escalates in the UK as Greater Manchester secondary school censors scores of books - Index on Censorship A school librarian faced a disciplinary hearing and scores of books were removed from her school library after she stocked Laura Bates’ Men Who Hate Women

This is utterly jaw-dropping.

A school that bans Atwood, Zadie Smith, Terry effing Pratchett and *literal George Orwell* is actively harming its pupils.

www.indexoncensorship.org/2026/03/scho...

Kim Kardashian Says Prisoners Who Fought L.A. Wildfires Were Paid 'Just a Few Dollars,' and She Wants to Change That (Exclusive) Kim Kardashian just endorsed new legislation that, if passed, would pay all incarcerated workers federal minimum wage: The bill was reintroduced on Thursday, March 19, Democratic Sen. Cory Booker

Senator Booker just reintroduced the Fair Wages for Incarcerated Workers Act, which would guarantee incarcerated workers get the federal minimum wage.

Incarcerated people are only making pennies per hour while being coerced into working dangerous jobs, including risking their lives to fight fires.

Votes recorded on hr 7661 in House Committee for Education and Workforce Development’s markup.

HR 7551, the National book ban bill, has passed the markup and is being recommended to the House with amendment. Here’s who voted how.

This isn’t over. CALL YOUR HOUSE REPS NOW.

Committee on Education & the Workforce | Republicans Fostering the best opportunities for students to learn, workers to succeed, and job creators to thrive.

Markup on HR 7661, the national book ban legislation, is happening right now: edworkforce.house.gov

Texas School District Bans Books by US Presidents | Kirkus Reviews The books are among 1,500 titles banned in the New Braunfels school district.

A Texas school district has banned approximately 1,500 books from its libraries, including titles by former U.S. presidents Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush, PEN America reports. www.kirkusreviews.com/news-and-features/articl...

In two and a half months, the state of Utah has banned NINE new books. The list of state-sanctioned book bans now stands at 28. This is amid a lawsuit filed in February against these bans.

More will be coming.

This one was added sneakily to the list.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Library Legislative Updates, Part 1 Part one of a series exploring the good, the bad, and the downright ugly proposed library bills across the US in 2026.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: Library Legislative Updates, Part 1

Part one of a series exploring the good, the bad, and the downright ugly proposed library bills across the US in 2026:

buttondown.com/wellsourced/...

cover of turning the page: an advocate's guide to the freedom to read

Have you downloaded our free digital guide yet?

Turning the Page: An Advocate’s Guide to the Freedom to Read offers tools, strategies, and resources to help defend books and resist censorship.

www.freedomtoreadproject.org/turning_the_...

#FreedomToRead #StopBookBans #IntellectualFreedom

By the book: Alberta schools pull at least 160 titles from shelves to meet provincial order | CBC News Alberta school divisions complying with a provincial order have removed dozens of graphic novels from their shelves, from illustrated versions of literary classics to coming-of-age memoirs and dramati...

The infection has spread to Canada! Awful to read this!

#bookban #censorship #Canada #libraries

www.cbc.ca/news/canada/...

The Right to Read is under attack and librarians across the country are fighting for your #FReadom. Watch Kim A Snyder’s “superb,” “gripping,” and “profounding alarming” NYT Critic’s Pick.

Now streaming for FREE via PBS’ YouTube channel and app (until May 9th only). tinyurl.com/TheLibrarian...

Image with blue background and white text box. Title at top saying "Session Spotlight" and text logo at bottom saying "Cleveland, OH, NCHEP15, 2026, The 15th National Conference on Higher Education in Prison." Text box in middle contains the following: "Inclusive and Adaptive Learning," "Presenters: Aaron Blumberg, Ess Pokornowski, Jenifer Montag, Madeline Jones, Ben Wright," "About This Presentation: Drawing from firsthand experience and research, panelists will share how accessible education and library services can transform prison environments, support rehabilitation, and foster lifelong learning. Attendees will leave with real-world examples, actionable strategies, and collaborative pathways that are grounded in recent studies, publications, and research to help make aspirational changes a reality through small, sustainable steps." "Format: Panel"

Excited for this session to be highlighted for next month's NCHEP15! I look forward to sharing the stage with these amazing people!

#HigherEducationInPrison #NCHEP #Accessibility #Education #Libraries

The Ensh*ttification of the Institute of Museum and Library Services Trucks On: What's Happening and What You Can Do Nearly a year after the Institute of Museum and Library Services was dismantled, what's happening at the agency? What can we do to help out?

The Enshittification of the Institute of Museum and Library Services Trucks On: Here's What's Happening and What You Can Do.

If you missed it, the IMLS home page got an AI overhaul, among other things.

bookriot.com/the-enshitti...

He was in the process of drafting a bill to combat prison censorship and book banning in the BOP, and said he'd provide me with the draft for feedback when ready.

Absolutely! I had a conversation with legal counsel from a US senator's office a couple weeks ago on the topic of prison censorship, and I brought up these kinds of banning attempts as well.

This is happening all over the country, what is considered a "content-neutral ban." Using the illusion of wanting to stop drugs from coming into the prison systems by banning physical mail and books altogether or only allowing approved vendors to be used. 🤦

Texas prison system bans hardback books to prevent drug overdoses The Texas Department of Criminal Justice will no longer allow books with hard covers in an effort to prevent drugs from getting into their facilities, they announced Friday.

In the fake idea that drugs are being sent into prisons via books, Texas's Department of Criminal Justice is banning hardcover books from being sent to those on the inside.

www.fox4news.com/news/texas-p...

Book Bans Still Happen Loudly in States with Anti-Book Ban Laws If book banning is being crafted to circumvent Freedom to Read bills, it's beyond time to call this a public health crisis.

Book Bans Still Happen Loudly in States with Anti-Book Ban Laws

If book banning is being crafted to circumvent Freedom to Read bills, it's beyond time to call this a public health crisis.

buttondown.com/wellsourced/...

Hiding our history is wrong — and un-American: Jim Obergefell Requiring libraries to put “material related to sexual orientation or gender identity or expression” out of sight of anyone under the age of 18 ignores the reality of human diversity. If the Ohio legi...

Jim Obergefell–the name you know from the SCOTUS case on LGBTQ+ marriage–has penned a hell of an editorial about the political battle over LGBTQ+ books in Ohio libraries.

www.cleveland.com/opinion/2026...

The horrific Alabama bill that would allow cities and counties to fire library board members has *bipartisan support* in the Senate. This is really bad news.

alabamareflector.com/2026/01/28/a...

Florida wants to do what the states in the QT'd have done and eliminate state property taxes. This would decimate local government services, including public libraries.

That's by design.

www.tallahassee.com/story/news/l...

Freedom Truck programming isn’t history. It’s propaganda. One version of America, one set of “values,” using a federal agency meant to serve everyone. Libraries teach HOW to think. They want to tell you WHAT to think. bookriot.com/imls-freedom...

Arkansas Puts Complete Ban on Incoming Books, Magazines, Other Materials for Incarcerated Individuals Starting February 1, Arkansas prisons will ban individuals from receiving books, magazines, and newspapers in the mail.

Arkansas prisons will be implementing the cruelest and strictest total ban on books, magazines, and newspapers being mailed to those on the inside nationwide. The decision came using an excuse that continues to be unfounded.

This is important. It will spread.

bookriot.com/arkansas-pri...

Reupping this from last night.

If you're a library advocate or worker, you should be pissed. You should also be pissed if you're a taxpayer. MILLIONS of dollars have been stolen from you and from public libraries and museums to develop these propaganda trucks.

The administration brags on social.