Intellectual Freedom News 10/24/2025
Highlights
- Deborah Caldwell Stone, ALA’s Stalwart Freedom to Read Advocate, Let Go in Cost Cutting Move | Words & Money
- American Library Association Implements Workforce Changes to Strengthen the Organization for the Future | ALA
- Penguin Random House and United for Libraries Announce 2026 Grants to U.S. Small and Rural Libraries | ALA
- US District Court Grants Summary Judgment and Issues Permanent Injunction Finding Texas Censorship Law Unconstitutional | Association of American Publishers (TX)
Censorship
- Talk in the 10: A letter to the Fremont County Library System Board Members | County10 (WY)
- Meet the NJ Librarian Who’s Taking on the Culture Wars | New Jersey Monthly (NJ)
- Huntington Beach ordered to remove youth-restricted section at library | CBS News (CA)
- Open Forum: School Board should stop wasting time, resources on book issue | Winchester Star (VA)
- Alabama board seeks to ban books that ‘positively’ depict trans themes from library youth sections | AP (AL)
- What’s the state of banned books in Monroe County? What to know | Indiana Daily Student (IN)
- Denied twice, Sumner County book ban policy is back again | WKRN (TN)
- Cromaine trustees divided on free representation offer from Alliance Defending Freedom | Livingston Daily (MI)
- Rutherford Co. library censorship opponents worry Trump EO will lead to more banned books | Daily News Journal (TN)
- DoDEA Must Return Books to Shelves, Judge Rules | ACLU
- Dover Area school officials object to AP history textbook, arguing it is ‘anti-American’ | York Dispatch (PA)
- Dover Area officials approve textbook after raising concerns of ‘anti-American’ bias | York Dispatch (PA)
- Moms (and Cool, Young Podcasters) for Liberty | Slate
- Let’s talk about sex — or not. How Iowa’s book ban law is impacting sex education. | Des Moines Register (IA)
- N.J. school board that refused to ban teen sex guide from library is cleared of ethics charges | NJ.com (NJ)
- Local parent group celebrates reported book removals | Crossroads Today (TX)
- Author says parent complaining about non-binary character led to Indiana high school canceling play at last minute | FOX59 (IN)
- Anti-trans activist Riley Gaines appointed to TN library board amid controversy | Tennessean (TN)
- Scappoose library saw 1 of 50 library materials challenges across the state in latest report | Columbia County Spotlight (OR)
- New Braunfels ISD closes secondary school libraries amid new law compliance | News4SA (TX)
- Request Sparks Book Removals at Victoria Public Library | Victoria Advocate (TX)
- Library book ban halted: Fort Campbell school ordered to restore books about race, gender | Clarksville Now (KY)
- Controversy after NC State Libraries bars Palestinian-American author, invoking UNC System neutrality policy | Technician Online (NC)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- As ‘No Kings’ protests denounce Trump, surveillance worries emerge | Reuters
- Labor unions challenge Trump administration for visa-holder social media surveillance | NBC5
- Amazon’s Ring Cameras Push Deeper Into Police and Government Surveillance | CNET
- ICE amps up its surveillance powers, targeting immigrants and antifa | Washington Post
- ICE windfall from Trump megabill fuels surveillance juggernaut | Axios
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- Texas law requiring bookstores to rate titles for sexual content ruled unconstitutional | San Antonio Express-News (TX)
- ACLU leads lawsuit against ‘indiscriminate’ ICE arrests in Colorado | Colorado Newsline (CO)
- Nory Doesn’t Go to School Here Anymore | New York Times
- Anti-censorship groups ask U.S. Supreme Court to take on Llano County library case | Texas Public Radio
- NCAC and Steven Pico File Supreme Court Brief Defending Library Patrons’ Right to Read | NCAC
- Amicus Brief in Support of Petitioners and Reversal – Little v. Llano County | FIRE
- This School Has Taught Native Hawaiians Since 1887. Is That Discrimination? | New York Times (HI)
- EXPLAINER: Why Marco Rubio’s arguments for deporting noncitizens for speech are wrong | FIRE
- “A broad censorship regime” – Big Tech and students hit Texas age verification law with legal complaints | TechRadar (TX)
- A federal judge just dismissed an Ohio teacher’s fight against book bans. | LiteraryHub (OH)
- Escambia book ban lawsuit paused amid free speech fight | Pensacola News Journal (FL)
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- Trump’s War on Universities: How Power Threatens Academic Freedom | Wire
- White House’s Aggressive Tactics Are Complicating Its Education Agenda | New York Times
- ‘If You Can Keep It’: Trump Takes Aim At Academic Freedom | NPR
- Academic Freedom Cannot Exist Under Political Coercion: President Trump’s Compact Threatens Higher Education | Amnesty International
- All but 2 Universities Decline a Trump Offer of Preferential Funding | New York Times
- Indiana University fires student newspaper adviser who refused to block news stories | AP (IN)
- ‘Censored’: Defiant Students Publish Digital Newspaper After University Bans Print Publication | Yahoo! News (IN)
- Student media has rights — Indiana University just violated them | Baylor Lariat (IN)
- Dartmouth rejects Trump’s compact, saying it won’t compromise its academic freedom | NHPR
- Recent DCPS meeting an example of board seats weaponized for political theater | Opinion | Jacksonville.com (FL)
- Abbott spooks academia after declaring Texas will go after professors for ‘ideological differences’ | Hill (TX)
Legislation
- Joint Judiciary advances book bill: Seeks to make libraries liable for explicit material | Cody Enterprise (WY)
State & Local Governance
- New Okla. schools superintendent rescinds mandate for Bible instruction | Free Speech Center (OK)
- Colorado Department of Education challenges funding eligibility for ‘first public Christian school’ | Colorado Politics (CO)
- Public hearing today on proposed library gender ideology rule | Alabama Daily News (AL)
Social Media & AI
- White House and Government Agencies Join Bluesky, Then Attack Democrats | New York Times
- How Trump Is Using Fake Imagery to Attack Enemies and Rouse Supporters | New York Times
Journalism & Media
- Pentagon rules for the press | Free Speech Center
- Trump Refiles His $15 Billion Defamation Lawsuit Against The New York Times | New York Times
- Emergent press censorship in the U.S. puts journalists at risk | Channels
Disinformation & Media Literacy
- Troll Farms: The Mercenaries of Online Disinformation? | InCyber
- Trump Empowers Election Deniers, Still Fixated on 2020 Grievances | New York Times
International
- Alberta panel recommends new funding framework, dropping EDI | University Affairs (Canada)
- Edmonton Public Library folds banned books into a celebration of intellectual freedom | Campaign Canada (Canada)
- No Paywalls, No Algorithms, Just Freedom: The Ad Campaign Libraries Deserve | Lia Created for Creatives (Canada)
Around the Web
- Teapot Dome. Watergate. They’re Nothing Compared With This. | New York Times
- Millions Attend ‘No Kings’ Protests Against Trump in Towns and Cities Across the U.S. | TIME
- ‘There’s so much.’ Nevadans exercise First Amendment rights at multiple No Kings events | Nevada Current
- Republicans Know How Vulnerable Trump Is. The Attacks on No Kings Prove It. | New York Times
- Thousands of No Kings protesters stage peaceful demonstration at Ohio Statehouse | Ohio Capital Journal
- Defiant Democrats embrace ‘No Kings’ rallies: ‘As American as motherhood, baseball and apple pie’ | Hill
- Hundreds of thousands rally near Capitol in nationwide ‘No Kings’ protest rebuking Trump | GW Hatchet
- Thousands attend ‘No Kings’ rallies in Atlanta to protest Trump administration | WABE
- ‘No Kings’ protests return to SoCal as Trump ramps up authoritarian practices, organizers say | ABC7
- Publishers fight back against US book bans | CBS19 News
- No Education Department? No Problem, Trump’s Education Secretary Says. | New York Times
- Trump Is Dragging Us Down to His Level | New York Times
- Ellen Hopkins talks about the importance of including stark realities in literature during National Book Ban Week | Signal
- American Flag With Swastika Is Found in Republican Congressman’s Office | New York Times
- Banned Book Display at Westfield Memorial Library through October | Patch
- No Book Left Behind: CCC’s Stand Against Banned Book | Clackamas Print
- Banned Books Week ends as censorship concerns remain | Times-Herald
- Battling book bans in Beantown and beyond | Tufts Daily
- Trump Dismisses Another Inspector General, Fueling Oversight Concerns | New York Times
- Right to read: Banned Book Week condemns censorship | Baylor Lariat
- Trump Said to Demand Justice Dept. Pay Him $230 Million for Past Cases | New York Times
- Opinion: Protecting the Freedom to Read: A Call to Action for New Mexico | New Mexico Political Report
- Banned Books Week: Displays at Dimond and Durham Libraries Raise Awareness About Censorship | The New Hampshire
- Librarian, bookseller talk censorship during Banned Books Week | The Leader
- Michelle Tea and Brooke Palmieri Explore the Magic (and Magick) of Queer Joy | Williamette Week
- “Defend all speech”: Experts in the book ban fight demand intellectual freedom | Times-Delphic
- The Death of the Marketplace of Ideas in American School Libraries | UA Little Rock
- The war on truth, part 1: Erasure by design — 300 Years of Native exclusion in Louisiana’s classrooms | Verite News
ALA News
- Longlist for 2026 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction announced
- Essentials of STEM Librarianship
- Core Webinar: Helping Neurodivergent Library Workers Succeed
- Core Webinar: 7 Secrets to Getting Staff to Work Together
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