Intellectual Freedom News 1/30/2026
Highlights
- Pre-Orders Open for 11th Edition of Intellectual Freedom Manual | ALA
- ALA welcomes Prison Libraries Act | ALA
- Renée Watson, Cátia Chien win Newbery, Caldecott Medals | ALA
- American Library Association announces 2026 Youth Media Award winners | ALA
Censorship
- ACLU ‘will be watching’ if Rutherford County library board removes 2,700 children’s books | Tennessean (TN)
- Rutherford County Library Board to vote on policy potentially removing 2,700 books | WZTZ (TN)
- Proposed library changes would increase censorship in Tennessee, the ACLU warns | WPLN (TN)
- Whistleblower Allegations and Book Removal Votes Put Rutherford County Libraries in Spotlight | WGNS (TN)
- Library books on slavery, Holocaust pulled in Rutherford County | Tennessean (TN)
- UPDATE: Library Alliance Sounds Alarm Over Censorship and Legal Shift Ahead of February Vote | WGNS (TN)
- Palmyra school board addresses backlash over French book ban discussion | Lebanon Daily News (PA)
- Banned books will stay on shelves in Elizabeth schools after district drops appeal | Colorado Public Radio (CO)
- US National Park Service removes slavery memorial at Philadelphia historic site | Art Newspaper (PA)
- More history exhibits pulled from national parks, including Grand Canyon | Washington Post
- Arkansas prison book restrictions on hold as agency seeks rule change | Arkansas Advocate (AR)
- Readington Board of Ed Passes New Policy Regarding Flagging Potentially Inappropriate Library Material | TapIntoFlemington/Raritan (NJ)
- Mississippi court reinstates educator fired over book reading | WJTV (MS)
- Appeals court sides with assistant principal fired for reading “I need a new butt” book | Darkhorse Press (MS)
- FVRLibraries trustee resigns after board removes ‘equity’ and ‘equitable’ from strategic plan | Columbian (WA)
- Author Kurt Vonnegut’s estate files lawsuit to challenge Utah book ban law | NPR
- First Amendment Concerns Over Book Removals in Florida School Libraries | NCAC (FL)
- She Fought a Book Ban. She May Never Teach Again. | New York Times (OK)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- AP photographer uses infrared technology to show how it is used as a surveillance tool | AP
- ICE Asks Companies About ‘Ad Tech and Big Data’ Tools It Could Use in Investigations | WIRED
- Border Patrol surveillance cameras approved over California city | SFGate
- Trump’s NSA pick endorses post-9/11 surveillance powers, stays vague on warrants | Reuters
- How ICE Already Knows Who Minneapolis Protesters Are | New York Times
- The powerful tools in ICE’s arsenal to track suspects — and protesters | Washington Post
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- NCAC Condemns Federal Government Lies About Constitutional Rights | NCAC
- The Trump Administration Has Been Sued 600 Times. Track These Cases. | New York Times
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- UPDATE: Lectures on race and history canceled in latest assault on academic freedom in Arkansas | Arktimes (AR)
- UNC System Board Weighs Defining, Setting ‘Parameters’ for Academic Freedom | Assembly (NC)
- Faculty, Students Speak Out Against Censorship at Texas A&M | Texas AFT (TX)
- UA’s withdrawal of law dean’s offer signals new reality for Arkansas higher education | News from the States (AR)
- Behind the right-wing plot to set up taxpayer-funded ‘intellectual freedom centers’ at public universities | Prism
Legislation
- Florida may tweak school book ban law to include ‘sexual excitement’ | Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
- Ignoring public’s concerns, House committee passes bill targeting ‘harmful’ books at schools | Florida Politics (FL)
- Proposed Bible bill leads to First Amendment debate in West Virginia Senate | WOWK (WV)
State & Local Governance
- Iowa lawmaker asks private universities to adopt his civics education agenda | Iowa Capital Dispatch (IA)
- Fairhope Library loses courier service after APLS cuts state funding | Alabama Political Reporter (AL)
- State Board of Education poised to require biblical readings for public school students | Spectrum News (TX)
- Sacramento to repeal ban on giving comic books to kids | ABC10 (CA)
Disinformation & Media Literacy
- False Posts and Altered Images Distort Views of Minnesota Shooting | New York Times
- Genetic Data From Over 20,000 U.S. Children Misused for ‘Race Science’ | New York Times
- Trump’s Lies Have a Purpose | New York Times
Social Media & AI
Journalism & Media
- USA Today Co. buys Detroit News | Free Speech Center
International
Around the Web
- One Year of the Trump Administration | American Libraries
- Group fights book bans in schools | Columbian
- ‘We Are Creating the Conditions for a Catastrophe.’ Three Columnists on Minneapolis. | New York Times
- ‘Conservative principles’ in schools silence diverse voices | Opinion | News-Press
- Educators Diversify Their Libraries in Challenging Times | Publishers Weekly
- Why Parents and Students Should Care About Academic Freedom | NC Newsline
- How political leanings affect views on academic freedom – new research | Conversation
- Lapeer District Library names new director following months-long search | MLive
- Profiting Off Pain: Privatized Detention, Mass Surveillance and the Drive for Immigrant Prosecutions | National Immigration Project
- Freedom to Read Week: Celebrating Intellectual Freedom | St. Lawrence College
- Connecting Censorship and the 1960s Freedom Schools | School Library Journal
ALA News
- Best of Core Forum: Competency vs. Character: What Makes a Good Leader?
- 2025 Best Graphic Novels for Children Reading List and Top Ten List Announced by the Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table
- Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table Announces 2025 Best Graphic Novels for Adults Reading List Titles and Top Ten List
- Rainbow Round Table and Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table and Announce Collaboration Core List Titles
- Best of Core Forum: Competency vs. Character: What Makes a Good Leader?
- Rainbow Round Table Announces the 2026 Stonewall Book Award Winners in Non-Fiction and Literature
- ‘A Guardian and a Thief,’ ‘Things in Nature Merely Grow’ receive 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction
- The Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table announce ‘Tongues,’ ‘Insectopolis’ and ‘The Night Eaters’ win the inaugural Outstanding Comics for Adults Awards
- The Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table announce ‘The Boy Wonder,’ ‘Raised by Ghosts’ and ‘Teen Titans’ win the inaugural Outstanding Comics for Young Adults Awards
- The Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table announce ‘Froggy: A Pond Full of Pals!’, ‘How to Draw a Secret’ and ‘Witches of Brooklyn’ win the inaugural Outstanding Comics for Children Awards
- Jonathan Fenske wins 2026 Geisel Award for ‘Stop That Mop!’
- Candace Fleming wins 2026 Children’s Literature Legacy Award
- WeatherHunters, Inc. and Silver Creek Falls Entertainment win Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award for ‘Weather Hunters’
- Sara Andrea Fajardo, Juana Martinez-Neal win 2026 Sibert Medal
- Kwame Alexander to deliver 2027 Children’s Literature Lecture
- Abraham Matias, Lupe Ruiz-Flores y Vanessa L. Torres ganan premios Pura Belpré
- Abraham Matias, Lupe Ruiz-Flores and Vanessa L. Torres Win Pura Belpré Awards
- 2026 Odyssey Awards for Excellence in Audiobook Production for Children and Young Adults announced
- ‘Legendary Frybread Drive-In’ wins 2026 Printz Award
- ‘Death in the Jungle: Murder, Betrayal, and the Lost Dream of Jonestown’ wins 2026 Excellence in Nonfiction for Young Adults Award
- ‘All the Noise at Once’ wins 2026 William C. Morris Award
- Candace Fleming wins 2026 Edwards Award
- YALSA announces 2026 Alex Awards
- Dr. Jewell Parker Rhodes, R. Gregory Christie win 2026 Coretta Scott King Book Awards
- Kadir Nelson 2026 recipient of the Coretta Scott King-Virginia Hamilton Award for Lifetime Achievement
- ‘Halfway to Somewhere’ and ‘One of the Boys’ win 2026 Stonewall Children’s and Young Adult Literature Awards
- 2026 Schneider Family Book Awards recipients named
- 2026 Sydney Taylor Book Award winners announced
- Youth Media Awards highlight 2026 Asian/Pacific American Awards for Literature youth category winners
- 2026 American Indian Youth Literature Awards announced
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