Debunking the Use of AI to Censor Library Collections
The prompt you give an AI chatbot shapes the response it generates. So what happens when you flip the script and ask a chatbot to summarize the educational merit of a library book instead of using a prompt aligned with what those seeking to censor it believe?
Research Paper: Racial Status Threat and Anti-DEI Efforts in Local School Districts
ALA collaborated with researchers from SUNY Albany, Michigan State University, the University of Texas at Austin, Texas Tech University, and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, who use ALA data on book challenges to examine the characteristics of the communities where book challenges—alongside other anti-diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts—are more likely to occur.
OIF Releases Additional Reports on Censorship in 2025
The American Library Association’s Office for Intellectual Freedom has released two reports providing additional detailed insights from 2025, the year with the highest level of library censorship ever documented in the U.S. One report focuses on censorship activities that took place at public libraries, and the other examines censorship at school libraries.
Intellectual Freedom News 10/30/2026
ALA actively advocates and educates in defense of intellectual freedom—the rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Intellectual freedom is a core value of the library profession, and a basic right in our democratic society. A publicly supported library provides free, equitable, and confidential access to information for all people of its community.
Intellectual Freedom News 10/23/2026
ALA actively advocates and educates in defense of intellectual freedom—the rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Intellectual freedom is a core value of the library profession, and a basic right in our democratic society. A publicly supported library provides free, equitable, and confidential access to information for all people of its community.
Intellectual Freedom News 10/16/2026
ALA actively advocates and educates in defense of intellectual freedom—the rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Intellectual freedom is a core value of the library profession, and a basic right in our democratic society. A publicly supported library provides free, equitable, and confidential access to information for all people of its community.
Intellectual Freedom News 10/9/2026
ALA actively advocates and educates in defense of intellectual freedom—the rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Intellectual freedom is a core value of the library profession, and a basic right in our democratic society. A publicly supported library provides free, equitable, and confidential access to information for all people of its community.
Intellectual Freedom News 10/5/2026
ALA actively advocates and educates in defense of intellectual freedom—the rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Intellectual freedom is a core value of the library profession, and a basic right in our democratic society. A publicly supported library provides free, equitable, and confidential access to information for all people of its community.
Bots Attacking & Scraping Library Catalogs
The Robots Are Coming ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom is receiving reports of bots conducting automated spam searches of library catalogs. This behavior is nefarious and a security concern requiring […]
Intellectual Freedom News 9/28/2026
ALA actively advocates and educates in defense of intellectual freedom—the rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Intellectual freedom is a core value of the library profession, and a basic right in our democratic society. A publicly supported library provides free, equitable, and confidential access to information for all people of its community.
Intellectual Freedom News 9/18/2026
ALA actively advocates and educates in defense of intellectual freedom—the rights of library users to read, seek information, and speak freely as guaranteed by the First Amendment. Intellectual freedom is a core value of the library profession, and a basic right in our democratic society. A publicly supported library provides free, equitable, and confidential access to information for all people of its community.