Intellectual Freedom News 3/6/2026
Highlights
- Announcing the eleventh edition of OIF’s Intellectual Freedom Manual | ALA
- ALA denounces federal book banning bill | ALA
- ‘Same Ingredients, Different Recipe’ in Proposed U.S. Book Ban | Publishers Weekly
- Maia Kobabe to guest edit series of original comics about LGBTQ2S+ censorship | Xtra*
- ALA Statement on Staff Unionization Efforts | ALA
- After blocking cuts to FY 2026 funding, library advocates call for boost in federal funding for FY 2027 | ALA
Censorship
- Pennsylvania Library Faces Backlash After Promoting Trans Poet on Facebook | Inquisitr (PA)
- Lubbock ISD rejects prayer period, approves book challenge process | KCBD (TX)
- Twin Falls School District reviews 95 book challenges | KMVT (ID)
- February 26, 2026
- Sweeping policy overhaul, fired director and 86K books under review at Pickens County Libraries | WYFF (SC)
- Utah adds 4 books to growing list of 27 titles now banned from all public schools | Salt Lake Tribune (UT)
- ‘Hiding in plain sight’: Mom says children’s book on how babies are made goes too far with ‘graphic’ images | WSFA (OH)
- LCSD1 affirms decision to retain ‘The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian’ in libraries | Cap City News (WY)
- ‘Flamer’ book ban: Harford Schools’ court fight has no end in sight | Baltimore Sun (MD)
- Rutherford County Group Calls on Community to Attend Library Board Meeting Amid Book Ban Debate | WGNS (TN)
- Book not banned; harassment cited | Marion County Record (KS)
- Carroll Schools book review policy has librarians fearing retaliation, feeling overworked | Baltimore Sun (MD)
Privacy & Cybersecurity
- How OpenAI caved to the Pentagon on AI surveillance | Verge
- OpenAI Blurs Its Mass Surveillance Red Line With New Pentagon Contract | Forbes
- UNC–Chapel Hill Abandons Classroom Surveillance After Massive Faculty and Student Pushback | AAUP (NC)
- ICE has spun a massive surveillance web. We talked to people caught in it | WGLT
First Amendment & Civil Rights
- Kansas revokes driver’s licenses from trans residents in latest assault on rights | Guardian (KS)
- Activist wins First Amendment lawsuit, Aurora must maintain public comment sessions | Sentinel Colorado (CO)
- Attorney general announces indictment against 30 more people who protested at a Minnesota church | Washington Post (MN)
- Trump’s Push for Election Power Raises Fears He Will ‘Subvert’ Midterms | New York Times
- Court says Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis can’t call civil rights group a ‘terrorist organization’ | NBC News
Academic Freedom & Student Speech
- Pentagon Cancels Fellowships at 13 ‘Elite’ U.S. Colleges | Inside Higher Ed
- Author Sandra Cisneros to Texas A&M students: The world is watching your education being censored | Houston Chronicle (TX)
Legislation
- Florida bill targeting sexual content in books sparks concern in Alachua County | WUFT (FL)
- Florida bill could unleash sweeping new surveillance powers | Florida Today (FL)
- Idaho Republican lawmaker proposes reworking library book restriction law | Idaho Capital Sun (ID)
- Kansas Senate votes to subvert students’ First Amendment right to join public protests | Kansas Reflector (KS)
- Wyoming lawmakers’ proposal to ban ‘explicit’ books from libraries falters as clock runs out | Jackson Hole News & Guide (WY)
State & Local Governance
- Bay County library trustee says public doesn’t care about the library, questions need for millage renewal | MLive (MI)
- Escambia pick for library director not a librarian, raises questions | Pensacola News Journal (FL)
Journalism & Media
Social Media & AI
- Anthropic boss rejects Pentagon demand to drop AI safeguards | BBC
- AI vs. the Pentagon: killer robots, mass surveillance, and red lines | Verge
- OpenAI announces Pentagon deal after Trump bans Anthropic | NPR
International
- NSW Is Introducing Legislation To Help Fight Book Bans In Libraries | Star Observer (Australia)
- More than 200 Valencian schools sign a manifesto against the censorship of Catalan and island authors | Ara (Spain)
Around the Web
- Nashville students celebrate 2nd annual Literary Day on the Hill | Tennessean
- Books are fading from kids’ lives. Parents want schools to do more. | Baltimore Banner
- Opinion: How Book Bans Led to the Postponement of the Diversity Baseline Survey | Publishers Weekly
- LGBTQ+ stories take center stage nationwide on National Day of Reading in an era of book bans | Advocate
- How to Talk About Book-Banning in the Classroom: A Story of Censorship, Action, Hope, and Love | Literary Hub
- Online Censorship in Schools Is Impacting Teachers As Much as Students | Hackernoon
- Trump has embraced a disturbing strategy to silence free speech | Guardian
- Authors of ‘banned books’ speak at Indianapolis schools | WFYI
- Freedom to Read: Why books should scare no one | Lethbridge Herald
- The startup that turned Texas’s book ban law into big business | Fast Company
- Nine Law Firms Surrendered. Four Law Firms Won. | New York Times
- Writer and professor Ira Wells wins 2026 Freedom to Read Award | Quill & Quire
- Critical Histories Booklist | Teaching America at 250 | School Library Journal
- Library of Virginia appoints new deputy state librarian and chief of archives | WRIC
- In 2013, CPS tried to ban a book. It didn’t go well. A new graphic novel tells the tale. | Chicago Tribune
- Author Darcie Little Badger Shows That One Person Standing Up To Censorship Can Make a Difference | PEN America
ALA News
- Application Open for ALA Endowment Trustee Position
- Host Applications Open for 2027 Children’s Literature Lecture Featuring Kwame Alexander
- ALA Names Grant Winners for National Mobile Literacy Initiative with Simple Mobile
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