Industry News

Some AI tools are making newsrooms more efficient; others are generating incorrect headlines and news summaries, presenting new information literacy challenges.

On Friday night, March 14, President Trump issued an Executive Order that called for the elimination of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and six other agencies. In FY24, the IMLS budget was $294.8 million, of which more than $211 million was dedicated to library services through the Library Services Technology Act (LSTA), the leading source of federal funding for America’s libraries. According to a statement from the American Library Association (ALA), “Libraries translate .003 percent of the federal budget into programs and services used by more than 1.2 billion people each year.”

On March 5, Clarivate issued an update  to its February 18 announcement of a new subscription-based content access strategy for ebooks and digital collections, acknowledging the need for community consultation and a new transition timeline. Because customers expressed that “the original communicated dates for the last orders would pose a considerable challenge,” the open letter stated, Clarivate will extend the ability to make perpetual purchases of print and ebooks on all platforms—including Ebook Central, OASIS, Rialto, and GOBI—through June 30, 2026.

We cannot be caught flat-footed when library funding is called into question. Doing the work of capturing stories today will help ensure we’re prepared to deal with threats that we may face tomorrow.

Sara Ring, continuing education librarian at Minitex (a joint program of the Minnesota Office of Higher Education and the University of Minnesota), was named a 2024 Library Journal Mover & Shaker for her work helping develop 23 Linked Data Things and the Minitex Wikimedia Project. LJ recently spoke with Ring about what it took to build those projects and her plans for the future.

Jennie Pu, director of Hoboken Public Library (HPL), NJ, has announced her run for New Jersey’s 32nd Legislative District Assembly. Pu, who has led HPL since 2021, would be the first librarian to run for state office in New Jersey (joining librarians Kathy Zappitello, who ran for Ohio state representative in 2022, and Rebekah Cummings, who ran for Lieutenant Governor of Utah in 2024). If elected, Pu will be the first Chinese American lawmaker in the state’s history and the first Asian American woman to represent Hudson County.

Clarivate, the parent company of ProQuest and its Ebook Central platform, on February 18 announced the launch of a new subscription-based content access strategy for ebooks and digital collections. As part of the strategy, Clarivate will be phasing out the option for libraries to purchase one-time perpetual licenses for its ebooks and digital collections in 2025, including single-title purchases, upgrades, and evidence-based and demand-driven acquisitions.

Voting for the American Library Association (ALA) 2026–27 presidential campaign opens March 10, and ALA members in good standing can cast their ballots through April 2. LJ invited candidates Lindsay Cronk, dean of libraries at Tulane University, New Orleans; Andrea Jamison, assistant professor of school librarianship, Illinois State University; and Maria McCauley, director of libraries, Cambridge Public Library, MA, to weigh in on some key issues.

In July 2024, when Idaho’s House Bill 710 went into effect, libraries across the state felt its impact in large and small ways, from refining policies to removing contested titles from their shelves. The law, passed by the state legislature and signed by Gov. Brad Little, prohibits libraries and schools from allowing anyone under age 18 to access material containing “sexual content,” regardless of their age—the law makes no distinction between infants and 17-year-olds—or the books’ literary merit. In February a coalition of publishers, authors, parents, students, and the Donnelly Public Library (DPL) District filed a lawsuit challenging HB 710 on the grounds that it violates the First and 14th Amendment rights of librarians, educators, publishers, authors, parents, and students.