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The Latest Breaking News from Libraries

Branching out: the Sydney street libraries where neighbours swap plants instead of books

Members of the community exchange seeds, cuttings and greenery – and leave with a sense of joy

The Guardian - AU

School ovals and playgrounds are sitting unused. Why aren’t more open to the community?

Schools are full of extremely useful and valuable facilities. These include playing fields, play equipment, sandpits, netball courts, concert halls, libraries and even pools.

The Conversation

Harvard temporarily suspends library privileges for faculty involved in 'study-in' protests

Students and faculty members at Harvard University have engaged in pro-Palestinian “study-in” protests at university libraries, as protests at other campuses nationwide have also begun to pull in teachers

The Independent UK

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Publishers are absolutely terrified "preserved video games would be used for recreational purposes," so the US copyright office has struck down a major effort for game preservation

"This fails the needs of citizens in favor of a weak sauce argument from the industry, and it's really disappointing"

GamesRadar

Sweden’s libraries caught in a political row about drag story hour

Drag story hour is “nothing other than indoctrination and sexualisation of children”, claimed Sweden Democrats politician Jonathan Sager during a session of the local parliament in Kalmar, southern Sweden, in 2022. He was reacting to plans to organise a drag story hour event at the local library, where drag queens…

The Conversation

Texas County Orders Public Libraries to Put Native American History Book in Fiction Section

A Texas county has sparked outrage after moving a Native American history book to the fiction section of all public libraries.

Latin Times

Activists ‘fight against censorship’ in the largest US book bans: prisons

Tens of thousands of titles, from dictionaries to Leonardo, are restricted across prisons – and its impact is palpable

The Guardian - US

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Libraries will only exist for as long as we borrow from them. Consider it your civic duty

In a world as noisy as ours, we need the quiet space of libraries. They are community hubs that serve whoever walks through the door

The Guardian - AU

Jonathan Coe and Kit de Waal among 35 writers of ‘protest zine’ defending threatened Birmingham libraries

Launched by poet Liz Berry and novelist Catherine O’Flynn, pieces for each of the city’s 35 branch libraries speak against a ‘tidal wave of market forces’

The Guardian - UK

"Discard [Library] Books … That Reflect Gender, Family, Ethnic, or Racial Bias"

Professional librarian sources seem split on viewpoint-based book removals: some firmly call for viewpoint neutrality, while others say that books should be evaluated for "biased viewpoints."

Reason

In otherwise chaotic times, Victoria’s state library gave me purpose and peace

Some might look like exclusive clubs, but our public libraries unite communities and help us work creatively – and all for free

The Guardian - AU

Florida school district reaches settlement to restore LGBTQ+ content to library shelves

Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill in 2022 to give parents a say in what books schools can and cannot have in their libraries

Latin Times

Sydney’s Yellamundie library among the world’s most beautiful as finalists for annual award revealed

Liverpool council’s new public building includes public art gallery spaces and a Stem centre

The Guardian - AU

Florida school district must restore books with LGBTQ+ content under settlement

A school district in northeast Florida must put back in libraries three dozen books as part of a settlement with students and parents

The Independent UK

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The Guardian - UK

Libraries are a vital asset for a thriving society

Letters: Responses to readers’ views on the importance of libraries and an editorial that mentioned Zadie Smith’s local library service

The Guardian - UK

Getting children to brave brassicas

Brief letters: Benefits of eating your greens | Public libraries | University students | Guinness and health | Heart emojis

The Guardian - UK

The Guardian view on public libraries: these vital spaces provide much more than books

Editorial: Offering everything from coding clubs to company, they are more essential than ever as other services vanish

The Guardian - UK

‘A shell of the place it used to be’: readers on the importance of libraries - and their fragile future

As sources of inspiration, havens from noise or social support service, council-run libraries have had a positive impact on lives all over the UK

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Salon

Stephen King on Fla. banning his books

Twenty-three of King's books have been banned in Florida school libraries

The Guardian - UK

More than 180 UK public libraries closed or handed to volunteers since 2016, data shows

Around 2,000 jobs were cut, and the most deprived areas were four times more likely to lose a library than the richest, according to a BBC report

The Guardian - UK

Share your experience of how libraries shaped your life

We want to hear your views on which libraries are important to you and why – and any memories that have stayed with you

The Guardian - UK

Jack Reacher would not exist without Birmingham’s libraries, says writer

Lee Child says childhood visits to city’s libraries helped him to create protagonist as he laments proposed closures

The Guardian - US

Major publishers sue Florida over ‘unconstitutional’ school book ban

Hundreds of titles from Judy Blume to Mark Twain purged from school libraries following rightwing challenges

The Independent UK

After millions lose access to internet subsidy, FCC moves to fill connectivity gaps

The FCC voted in July to allow schools and libraries to use federal money to loan out WiFi hotspots to students and patrons

The Guardian - UK

The Dublin award’s place in the Irish literary scene

Letters: Bob Mortimer on the biggest prize in the world for a single novel published in English, nominated by libraries

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