Bookbrowse News About Books, Authors, and Book-Related Topics

A group of faith leaders in Ohio denounced a recent alleged hate crime in the state, in which a man burned books belonging to a public library. The destroyed books were on Jewish, African American and LGBTQ+ history.

Ruling decisively in favor of 21 states' attorneys general, Rhode Island district court judge John J. McConnell Jr. formally ordered a halt on May 13 to a presidential executive order dismantling the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and two more federal agencies.

Protection of copyright has always been a top priority for the Association of American Publishers, and that point was driven home again during the organization's annual meeting held via Zoom on May 8. With the exception of Jenna Bush Hager's opening remarks about her passion for reading which led her to form the Read with Jenna book club as well as the new Thousand Voices x RHPG imprint, the five other main speakers devoted their remarks on the need to defend copyright against Big Tech firms determined to use publishers' content to build their large language models without permission or payment.

The Trump administration reportedly fired the head of the US copyright office over the weekend – within days of the dismissed official having published a report about how the development of artificial intelligence (AI) technology could run afoul of fair use law.

Donald Trump abruptly fired the librarian of Congress, Carla Hayden, on Thursday as the White House continues to purge the federal government of those perceived to oppose the Republican US president and his agenda.

In the days leading up to the A Million Lives book festival, things already seemed amiss. Grace Marsceau, the event organizer, messaged an attending author that the DJ was in the hospital and the company had no replacement. She owed the hotel "six figures" because the room block hadn't sold out, according to messages.

In welcome news for the Institute of Museum and Library Services and two more federal agencies targeted for dismantling by a presidential executive order, the District Court of Rhode Island has granted 21 states' attorneys general the preliminary injunction they sought in Rhode Island v. Trump. In response to the evidence and to an April 18 motion hearing, chief judge John J. McConnell Jr. granted the states' motion, agreeing with the plaintiffs that the executive order violates the Administrative Procedures Act, separation of powers principle, and the Take Care clause of the U.S. Constitution.

On May 2, the National Endowment for the Arts terminated or rescinded grants already awarded in the 2025 fiscal year to a number of cultural institutions, including several nonprofit publishers and literary organizations. That same day, the Trump administration proposed eliminating the NEA, its sister agency the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Institute of Library and Museum Services in the national budget for the next fiscal year.

The American Library Association and American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) on Thursday were granted a "narrow" temporary restraining order (TRO) against further action by Institute of Museum and Library Services acting director Keith Sonderling and agency defendants to dismantle the Institute for Museum and Library Services.

On the eve of an April 30 motion hearing on the future of the Institute of Museum and Library Services, attorneys for the American Library Association and the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees have responded to last week's filing by the defendants in ALA v. Sonderling. The plaintiffs seek a preliminary injunction to a White House executive order that they say takes a "chain-saw approach to federal agencies chartered by Congress of which it does not approve," IMLS among them. Since the "implementation of the decision to dismantle IMLS is already well along," they write, the case is "ripe for review."