Lisa Peet

Despite recent traumatic events in Minneapolis and people's ongoing fears, the mood at the 2026 PLA conference was, overall, positive. Speakers, sessions, and conversations consistently centered the belief that change is both necessary and possible, that library values still take precedence, and that hope is an effective muscle.

At an atypical and uncertain moment in the budget cycle, libraries are looking beyond traditional revenue streams and funding partners.

Brittani Sterling, Social Sciences and Interdisciplinary Studies Librarian at the University of Nevada–Las Vegas (UNLV), was named a 2025 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her online workshops and UNLV Libraries program “We Need to Talk: Conversations on Racism for a More Resilient Las Vegas.” LJ spoke with Sterling about academic advocacy, talking about systemic racism in Las Vegas, and being in the public eye as an introvert-leaning ambivert.

After refusing to comply with the library board’s decision to remove 132 books from the children’s section of the Rutherford County Library System (RCLS), TN, former Director Luanne James has been fired. The library board voted 8–3 to terminate James at a special board meeting on March 30.

Staff members of the American Library Association (ALA) have announced plans to unionize with the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 31 in Illinois. More than 40 employees of ALA, whose main headquarters is in Chicago, shared an open letter with their colleagues on March 2 encouraging their support for a new union, ALA Workers United.

Kayleen Jones, Education and Human Service Professions Librarian at the University of Minnesota–Duluth (UMD) Kathryn A. Martin Library, was named a 2025 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work launching the Antiracist Literary Advisory Board. Together with her library colleagues and the UMD Education faculty, Jones created the platform for Education students to learn about identifying needs around representation in children’s publishing and exploring ways to fill them. LJ spoke with Jones about the genesis of the project, and how it impacted those who participated.

A holistic approach to literacy in the broadest sense, and a commitment to open and equitable access, has earned HCPL the 2026 Jerry Kline Community Impact Prize, developed in partnership with the Gerald M. Kline Family Foundation.

The Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) announced February 20 that it has provided several Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) with $1,725,261 in funding. The money was distributed among eight HBCUs and the HBCU Library Alliance toward projects that preserve U.S. history and develop the future workforce.

In October 2025, a representative of the State Department informed 501(c)(3) nonprofit U.S. public libraries by email that they must stop offering passport application services as of February 13. Public libraries that are departments of local municipal governments were not included in the determination. The American Library Association (ALA) estimates some 1,400 libraries—15 percent of the nation’s total—could be affected.