Latest American Library Association News

Lorrie Moore wins National Book Critics Circle award for fiction, Judy Blume also honored

Mar. 21, 2024 20:52 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Lorrie Moore won the prize for fiction on Thursday, while Judy Blume and her longtime ally in the fight against book bans, the American Library Association were given honorary prizes by the National Book Critics Circle. Moore, best known as a short-story writer,...

Censorship efforts at libraries continued to soar in 2023, according to a new report

Mar. 14, 2024 05:02 AM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) — Bannings and attempted bannings of books soared again in the U.S. last year, continuing to set record highs, according to a new report from the American Library Association. On Thursday, the ALA announced that 4,240 works in school and public libraries had been...

Georgia Senate passes bill banning taxpayer, private funds for American Library Association

Feb. 29, 2024 16:49 PM EST

ATLANTA (AP) — Georgia's Senate passed a bill Thursday that would ban libraries from spending public or private funds on services offered by the American Library Association, which a Republican member of the chamber called a “Marxist and socialist” group. The measure, Senate...

Georgia GOP senators seek to ban sexually explicit books from school libraries, reduce sex education

Feb. 21, 2024 21:51 PM EST

ATLANTA (AP) — Republican senators in Georgia want to cull sexually explicit books from schools, ban sex education for younger students, display the Ten Commandments in classrooms and allow religious chaplains to counsel teachers and students. The measures, which passed Senate...

Editorial Roundup: Alabama

Feb. 07, 2024 07:23 AM EST

Cullman Times. February 1, 2024. Editorial: Testing your news literacy This past week wrapped up annual National News Literacy Week with an opportunity to test your awareness of what’s news and what isn’t — so if keeping up with the news were a quiz, how well do...

Lorrie Moore and Naomi Klein among nominees for National Book Critics Circle awards

Jan. 25, 2024 14:58 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Lorrie Moore, Naomi Klein and the Egyptian writer Ahmed Naji are among the finalists for National Book Critics Circle awards. Honorary prizes are going to Judy Blume and to a longtime ally of Blume's in the fight against book bans, the American Library Association. ...

Dave Eggers' children's book 'The Eyes & the Impossible' wins prestigious Newbery Medal

Jan. 22, 2024 20:57 PM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — Dave Eggers is now an award-winning children’s author. Eggers’ “The Eyes & the Impossible,” the great adventure of a very fast dog, has received the John Newbery Medal for the year’s best children’s book, an honor previously given to Beverly Cleary,...

Roxanna Asgarian's 'We Were Once a Family' and Amanda Peters' 'The Berry Pickers' win library medals

Jan. 20, 2024 11:12 AM EST

NEW YORK (AP) — In the childhood home of author Roxanna Asgarian, there were restrictions on how often the television could be on and which programs could be watched. Books were placed under a much looser set of rules. “Mom would take us to the library and gave us...