Free Republic

Los Angeles public libraries are being overwhelmed by violence, drug use and homelessness with frightened families and librarians saying once-safe community spaces are often no-go zones. Even enforcement measures designed to control disruptive behavior are now buckling under the strain. Temporary Suspension Letters — which ban unruly patrons from all library branches — have surged nearly 90% from 369 in 2023 to 700 suspensions in 2025. A California Post review of 911 logs obtained through a public records request found the emergency call outs were for assaults, criminal threats, drug use, theft, mental health crises and trespassing. And reported incidents...

There are more than 1 million sexually explicit books in K-12 public schools across the country. These books aren’t just “sexually explicit,” they are boldly pornographic – lewd, obscene, salacious. And children not only have access to them, they are encouraged to read these books. Anyone – parents, teachers or school board members – who challenge sexually explicit curriculum and library book-selections, find themselves the recipients of rabid political hatred.

Internet Archive — the no-cost, nonprofit digital library that has become embroiled in the nationwide battle over copyrights and free speech — is now an official source for government documents. According to a new designation announced by California Senator Alex Padilla, the website will join a network of more than 1,000 libraries around the country tasked with archiving government documents for public view. Unlike other designated federal depository libraries, as they are known, the Archive is entirely online. The news was first reported by San Francisco's KQED, who spoke to both Padilla and Archive founder Brewster Kahle about supporting the...

This article contains graphic descriptions that may not be suitable for all readers. Parental discretion is advised.RALEIGH, N.C. – Like public libraries across the country, branches in North Carolina’s capital city turn rainbow-hued each June in celebration of Pride Month. Festive book displays featuring “queer-themed” titles written for all ages – from toddlers to teens and adults – are set out for the public as innocently as if the subject in question were cooking, gardening, or personal finance. The colorful Pride books set out by Wake County civil servants are not just a benign celebration of gay dignity, hugging couples,...

Paint splattered on floors. Spray-painted messages and screeds covering walls. Furniture moved and overturned. Security cameras disabled. Fire extinguishers missing and entrances blocked by stacks of chairs. “We’ve got our work cut out for us,” a facilities manager at Portland State University said Thursday as he examined the destruction left behind after a three-day occupation by pro-Palestinian protesters in Millar Library.

The George W. Bush Institute executive who organized a joint statement by 13 presidential libraries pledging to unify to preserve democracy was previously revealed as the person who leaked the infamous Steele dossier to BuzzFeed after the 2016 election. David Kramer, the executive director of the George W. Bush Institute, spearheaded a statement Thursday signed by 13 presidential libraries dating back to Herbert Hoover. "By signing this statement, we reaffirm our commitment to the principles of democracy undergirding this great nation, protecting our freedom, and respecting our fellow citizens," the statement read, in part. "When united by these convictions, America...

The ALA Library: Terrorist Sanctuary By Paul Walfield FrontPageMagazine.com | May 8, 2003 The American Library Association has signed up for battle in the War on Terrorism; unfortunately, it has signed up to fight the Bush Administration and the USA PATRIOT Act. Siding with civil libertarians against public safety is just the ALA’s most recent leftist act of political defiance. However, this is their most corrosive stance for the well-being of all Americans, undermining and sabotaging public efforts to stave off terrorism..

Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.Editor’s note: This search tool is part of The Atlantic’s investigation into the Library Genesis data set. You can read an analysis about LibGen and its contents here. Find The Atlantic’s search tool for movie and television writing used to train AI here. Disclaimer: LibGen contains errors. You may, for example, find books that list incorrect authors. This search tool is meant to reflect material that could be used to train AI programs, and that includes material containing mistakes and inaccuracies.

A new law goes into effect January 1st ostensibly to prohibit school libraries from “banning” books. But the new law is not what you may think it is. Its sole purpose is not to protect your kids from pornographic library books, but to prevent the pornographic, library books from being banned by parents and school boards.

I was vilified for criticizing the Dewey Decimal system. We librarians need to stop perpetuating its systemic racism in our libraries. Almost a decade ago, my colleagues and I wrote an article for SLJ entitled “Are Dewey’s Days Numbered?” in which we made the argument that the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) system had lost its relevance. We took a bold stance, and the backlash was swift. Fellow librarians would wait outside the rooms I was speaking in at conferences, backing me into corners to demand that I stop talking about alternative systems.

The superintendent of a school district in the Rio Grande Valley of Texas recently agreed within minutes to a conservative group’s demands to remove 676 books, including some seminal texts about the Holocaust and antisemitism. Now, weeks later, Carol Perez has been removed from the district she led, just as the Republican governor of Texas appeared to endorse the book removals on social media. Conservative activists, led by a local pastor and outspoken Israel advocate, pushed the district, Mission CISD, to excise books mostly about gender, sexuality and race. Their demands represented an extreme version of a nationwide culture war...

Idaho librarian June Meissner was closing up for the day at the downtown Boise Public Library when a man approached her asking for help. As an information services librarian, answering patrons’ questions is part of Meissner’s day-to-day work, and serving the community is one of her favorite parts of the job. But when the man got close enough, “he took a swing at me and tried to punch me in the head,” said Meissner, a transgender woman. “I blocked it and he started yelling slurs and suggesting that he was going to come back and kill me.”

June is the month when folks who are given over to sexual deviancy and gender confusion publicly display their disdain for the design of creation and the God who gave them life. Ironically, they have coopted the rainbow, a symbol of the Noahic covenant given by God after he destroyed the world with a flood in an act of global judgment. The state of the unregenerate hearts of men before the flood is not dissimilar to what we see in Pride celebrations this very month. Solomon described this cycle in Ecclesiastes 1:8-9: What has been is what will be, and...

A bill that would prohibit public libraries from banning books or other materials because of topic or content passed the Assembly Education Committee in a 5-1 vote with 1 abstention on Wednesday. Assembly Bill 1825, authored by Assemblyman Al Muratsuchi (D-Torrance), would specifically require the governing board or body of each public library to establish a written policy for the selection of library materials and the use of library materials and facilities. The bill would require the policy to establish that library materials shall not be excluded because of the origin, background, or views of those contributing to the creation...

Scholastic is both a publisher and a distributor of books. It’s well-known for publishing educational material for schools, teachers, and parents, as well as books and resources for children. Scholastic’s publishing arm is responsible for producing a wide range of content, including books, magazines, and digital products and includes popular series and titles that cater to children and young adults. Scholastic is also well-known for its book fairs in schools where it children can attend and purchase books without direct parental supervision—and some of the stuff you might find at these book fairs is rather disturbing. So parents, beware. First...

A group that decries the “violent effects of US border policy” and downplays illegal immigration will be bringing an exhibit on migration to over a dozen libraries across America in the coming months as illegal immigrants continue to pour across the southern border. Sponsored by the American Library Association, the largest nonprofit trade organization for libraries run by a self-described “lesbian Marxist,” 15 libraries from California to New Jersey, will be hosting an exhibition called “World on the Move: 250,000 Years of Human Migration.” The “Word on the Move” project, which has the stated goal of shaping public discussions on...

The majority of New York City public libraries will be forced to cut their hours yet again and open just five days a week if Mayor Eric Adams’ proposed $58.3 million budget cuts go ahead, the presidents of the Big Apple’s three library systems warned Tuesday. Since November, the city’s more than 200 public library branches have already been shut every Sunday to offset the surging cost of the local migrant crisis. On Tuesday, the presidents of the New York, Brooklyn and Queens Public Library systems laid bare the possible further reduction in services as they testified during a City...

<p>Ever since I first learned to read, I have been fascinated with writing. I have always loved how talented writers can whisk us away to a time in history, worlds that exist only in our minds, or even to current events happening far away. It feels like magic.</p>

Lacking power at the state level, conservatives are leaning into local governance to protest California’s progressive politics. The fight in Huntington Beach could be a harbinger of what’s to come.

In this two-minute video, a mother of three reads from an explicit book that is in school libraries.