Highlights

• Cronk, Jamison, McCauley Seek 2026–2027 ALA Presidency | American Libraries
• American Library Association launches national search for executive director | ALA
• ACRL 2025 Conference Registration Now Open | ALA

Censorship

• Florida Department of Education releases list of over 700 banned books in K-12 schools | Central Florida Public Media (FL)
  • Florida education officials report hundreds of books pulled from school libraries | ABC News (FL)
• Member of Corpus Christi Library Board must forfeit her seat, city officials say | Caller Times (TX)
  • NAACP speaks up for City library board member told to give up position | KIII (TX)
• St. Joseph School District Board of Education votes to keep another challenged book | KQ2 (MO)
• Big turnout at Columbia County Library Board meeting, controversy over new guidelines persists | WJBF (GA)

Privacy & Cybersecurity

• Voted in America? This Site Doxed You | 404
• The WIRED Guide to Protecting Yourself From Government Surveillance | WIRED

First Amendment & Civil Rights

• High court to hear website age-verification case Jan. 15 | Free Speech Center
• Supreme Court turns away January 6 defendant who challenged ‘picketing’ law under First Amendment | CNN
• Judge rules Louisiana law ordering schools to display Ten Commandments violates First Amendment | CBS News (LA)
• Project 2025 Aims to Strip Away Our Civil Rights | Common Cause

Academic Freedom & Student Speech

• Yale College dean defends University response to campus protests at Buckley event | Yale News
• Harvard Triples Down On Punishing Campus Free Speech, Adds Prayer To No-No List | Above the Law
  • No ID Checks, but Harvard ‘Determining Next Steps’ After Second Faculty Study-In | Harvard Crimson
  • We’re Harvard Library Workers. We Stand in Solidarity with the Study-Ins. | Harvard Crimson
• University of Iowa reminds faculty of academic freedom, responsibilities post-election | Gazette (IA)
• Many Faculty Say Academic Freedom Is Deteriorating. They’re Self-Censoring. | Inside Higher Ed

Legislation

• House Fast-Tracks Bill That Would Give Trump Power to Target Nonprofits | Rolling Stone
  • ACLU Urges House to Kill Bill that Could Give Trump Admin Power to Crush Dissent and Go After Political Enemies | ACLU
• New House bills could make it harder to ban books in public and district libraries | Michigan Public (MI)

State & Local Governance

• Ex-lawmaker urges Arkansas Legislature to abolish library board on which he serves | Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette (AR)
• South Carolina debuts new process for statewide school book bans | WHQR (SC)

Net Neutrality & Broadband Access

• Trump’s likely FCC chair wrote Project 2025 chapter on how he’d run the agency | Benton Institute for Broadband & Society

Journalism & Media

• Trump’s wild threats put press freedom in the crosshairs in second term | Guardian
• Satire publication The Onion buys Alex Jones’ Infowars at auction with Sandy Hook families’ backing | AP
  • Here’s Why I Decided To Buy ‘InfoWars’ [satire] | Onion

Social Media

• First came the bots, then came the bosses – we’re entering Musk and Zuck’s new era of disinformation | Guardian
• Elon Musk Is Positioning X Behind the New Trump Presidency | New York Times
• The American Twilight Zone: The dangers of disinformation | Michigan Daily
• Judge advances claim against Meta by Florida AG over kid safety | Courthouse News Service

Disinformation & Media Literacy

• State Department Division That Battles Foreign Disinformation Faces Closure | Wall Street Journal
• Democrats need to reclaim reality from the right-wing disinformation machine | Washington Post
• Trump Picks R.F.K. Jr. to Be Head of Health and Human Services Dept. | New York Times

Around the Web

• Wampanoag author to discuss book at center of controversy | Sippican Week
  • Reinventing the Book Ban | Native News Online
• Project 2025 chief’s book urges ‘burning’ of FBI, New York Times and Boy Scouts | Guardian
• Caroline Baum’s Inspiring Reflections on Libraries, Activism, and the Power of Trust | Bugle
• Interested in academic freedom? New book by Texas law professor is indispensable guide | Free Speech Center
• Former Advocates for Book Restrictions Secure Seats on Clark County School Board | Hoodline
• What Trump’s Win Means for Education | TIME
  • Trump wants to end ‘wokeness’ in education. He has vowed to use federal money as leverage | AP
  • CA superintendent, other leaders call on President-elect Trump to protect public education | ABC7
  • Trump pledged to close the Education Department. What would that mean? | Washington Post
• Library director resigns following staff complaints | Brookline News
• Most US book bans target children’s literature featuring diverse characters and authors of color | Times Union
• Freed Library to close this week after Whitmire reverses stance on Montrose Collective | Houston Landing
• ‘He’s Not Kidding,’ Advocates Warn as Trump Threatens to Defund Schools for Teaching US History | Alaska Native News
• Most Texas school board candidates who support book bans lost their elections | Lonestar Live
• At Mar-a-Lago, ‘Uncle’ Elon Musk Puts His Imprint on the Trump Transition | New York Times
• The Woman Whose Crusade Gave Today’s Book-Banning Moms a Blueprint | TIME
• OPINION: Idaho’s recent wave of banning books hurts children, free speech and libraries | UI Argonaut

ALA News

• REFORMA and Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table and Announce Collaboration Core List Titles
• Strategies for serving the underserved
• American Library Association unveils shortlist for 2025 Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction
• ALA Nominating Committee announces councilors-at-large candidates
• Neal, Thornton running for 2025-2028 ALA treasurer
• Conceptually rich information literacy research and practice
• Expert perspectives on what kids need now

Subscribe to future issues of Intellectual Freedom News, a free weekly compilation of news delivered to your inbox by the ALA Office for Intellectual Freedom, including

• current book challenges in libraries and schools
• articles about privacy, internet filtering and censorship
• ALA activities, conferences and institutes, products, online learning opportunities, awards and grants, international exchanges, and more
• how to get involved and make the most of what ALA offers