For The People Newsletter Vol. XXIX
For everyone working to strengthen and expand public libraries
Local Organizing in Philly by Elenore Wade
A small, neighborhood branch serving the residents of Brewerytown and Sharswood in North Philadelphia, the Cecil B. Moore library caters to the residential character of the neighborhood, with a cozy and welcoming children’s section to one side of the entrance and a small permanent collection to the other. When I go to the library to pick up my holds, I can always count on a fun conversation with staff about my DVD choices.
One day several months ago, though, when I stopped at the library, I saw a sign on the door that said the library was closed indefinitely. A few weeks later, I found myself at a town hall where my neighbors spoke to the city about how the closure was affecting our community and what we wanted them to do about it. City officials suddenly wanted to debate “the future of” our library, as though it vanishing from the present was a done deal with no solution and as though our community’s need for a library was an open question everybody but us would get to answer. After a lot of organizing and mobilizing by a lot of people, the library is back. For now. The struggle is ongoing, but I’m reflecting on what I learned at that town hall.
What was most special to me about this experience—of coming together with community to save our precious resource—is it taught me a very important lesson: you can just show up.
As someone who is much more personally active and embedded in other organizing spaces, I suddenly found myself nervous about being organized and mobilized. Would I miss something? Was I working hard enough? Did the people doing all the hard work to make these events and actions happen really want me there? What if I didn’t have time to do more than show up at one meeting and tell city officials what the library meant to me?
Those are all fine questions to ask, but the experience reminded me that everyone picks up different work in different struggles. And they have to, or none of this would ever work. In this struggle, I was a member of a community who showed up to her local library one day and saw it had been abruptly closed. I asked a few neighbors about it, and they hadn’t heard anything, so I turned to social media to see if I could find out what was going on. When I found the neighborhood coalition fighting to save the library, I joined their email list, filled out their survey, and learned about the upcoming town hall where city officials would be present to hear about what we wanted for the library. And I showed up.
Those are all fine questions to ask, but the experience reminded me that everyone picks up different work in different struggles. And they have to, or none of this would ever work.
What I saw there were people with many different perspectives and a shared a goal of getting our library back and getting accountability from the people who’d tried to justify its closure. I was thankful to the organizers for working so hard to create this forum, and I was also grateful to them because I felt a lot less alone and frustrated when I saw a group of people who shared my concerns filling up the auditorium of a cavernous historic church. And what resulted was, at least for now, reopening of the library. But even as I write this, the library is closed for the day because the weather’s gotten hotter, and the library’s HVAC system can’t deal with that, despite money we know is available to fix this problem and keep our library open. Clearly, showing up once is not enough, but it’s a start, and it’s a step I will keep reminding myself to take.
April 23, 2025
Favorite Library Quotes
FTP asked folks to send in their favorite library quotes…and you did! We will feature them throughout the year.
“A library is many things. It’s a place to go, to get in out of the rain. It’s a place to go if you want to sit and think. But particularly it is a place where books live, and where you can get in touch with other people, and other thoughts, through books.”
– - E.B. White
For more information, visit our website: https://www.librariesforthepeople.org/lemonade
Here’s a roundup of interesting reading and listening material that we think you’ll appreciate. Sometimes articles may be paywalled. In other news, sometimes it’s nice to use tools like Archive.today or the Wayback Machine.
Right-Wing “See You at the Library” Event Back in 2025; Partners with US Department of Education by Kelly Jensen
New Report: The Censorship Acceleration - An Analysis of Book Ban Trends After 2020
AI chatbots need more books to learn from. These libraries are opening their stacks by Matt O’Brien for AP
Warren, Markey call for answers on federal funding cuts to Mass. museums and libraries by Maddie Browning for WBUR News
Oregon has passed a bill to protect school libraries from book bans by James Folta for Literary Hub
Voters reject Huntington Beach's library review board in special election by Matthew Rodriguez for CBS Los Angeles
If books could kill: The poison legacy lurking in libraries by Pauline McLean for BBC
Carla Hayden fired from Library of Congress with terse Trump email by Rona Kobell for The Baltimore Banner
Former Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden speaks out on her firing by Trump by Robert Costa for CBS
Bay Area library visits have sharply declined. But not in this tranquil suburb by Danielle Echeverria for SF Chronicle
Washington State Library closing to the public, 12 jobs getting axed by Jerry Cornfield for Washington State Standard
Q&A: Retiring library leader says the future is bright, despite recent criticism of librarians by Joshua Haiar for South Dakota Searchlight
Most San Diego City Council members want to keep libraries open. Here’s how it could happen by Katie Anastas for KPBS Public Media
Federal cuts could end key library services for rural Alaskans by Hunter Morrison, KDLL for KTOO
A Gold Standard Tool for Library Weeding Was Quietly Shut Down by Kelly Jensen
Last certificates issued through State Library training institute victimized by budget cuts by John Hult for South Dakota Searchlight
California library program that gives free access to state parks is at risk of disappearing by Destiny Torres for LAist
New Livestream Brings Microfiche Digitization to Life for Democracy’s Library - Internet Archive Blogs
Watchdog Finds Trump Administration Broke Law by Withholding Library Funds by Tony Romm for The New York Times [Gift link]
Trump administration slapped with ‘impoundment’ violation for freezing library, museum funding by Jennifer Scholtes for Politico
'We had lots of dreams'; Idaho's library system ends, restructures programs amid federal funding cuts by Laura Guido for Idaho Press
One Week, Four Library Bomb Threats by Kelly Jensen
New ALA report spotlights prison libraries’ strategic role in reentry
United for Libraries, Penguin Random House Announce Small and Rural Library Grants by Lisa Peet for Library Journal
US supreme court rules schools must let kids opt out of hearing LGBTQ+ books by Robert Tait for The Guardian
More NYC libraries would open 7 days a week in Council speaker's budget proposal by Elizabeth Kim for Gothamist
Librarians from across the U.S. held a ‘read-in’ to draw attention to Philly schools’ poor library record by Kristen A. Graham for The Philadelphia Inquirer
A Win for Fair Use Is a Win for Libraries by Chris Freeland for Internet Archive Blogs
Supreme Court OKs fee that subsidizes phone, internet services in schools, libraries and rural areas by Mark Sherman for Associated Press
Ohio libraries call on DeWine to veto budget provision to move books on gender, identity by Sheridan Hendix for The Columbus Dispatch
Take Action
Submit your zines to Sherwood Forest Zine Library! Submission details from SFZL: “Our Virtual Zine Library is open to all your zines from activist guides, political history, and theory, to cookbooks, sketchbooks, DIY guides, and more! Interested in having your zine in our collection? Please send us an email including either a link to your free online readable zine or a PDF (preferred) attached in the email. If you have a description of your zine, that helps too! Email us: sherwoodzinelibrary@gmail.com”
Write a letter to NYC Mayoral Candidates: Demanding Increased Funding for NYC's Public Libraries - Action Network.
Want to organize around NYC public libraries to secure stable & expanded funding? NYC Public Library Action Network’s next meeting is August 17 from 2 to 4:15 pm. If interested, email info@nycplan.org.
Guide the Next Generation of Intellectual Freedom Advocates With This Free Toolkit from the Brooklyn Public Library via Kelly Jensen
Upcoming Events of Interest
July 5 | Washington, DC 11 am - 7 pm at The Line Horel DC The Readers Fair features 25+ print workers from the District and neighboring cities, as well as curated programming centering reading, writing, and DIY print culture.
Deadline: July 5 | Austin, Texas | Apply to table at the Lonestar Zine Fest.
Deadline: July 11 | Call for applications: Misfits: A Fall Course From The Cross-Reference Coalition – Metropolitan New York Library Council. Cultural heritage workers and graduate students affiliated with METRO’s member institutions are eligible to apply. Applications from NYC-based artists and designers are also welcome. There’s no cost to participate.
Deadline: July 11 | Books Unbanned / Call for proposals: Funding for libraries via Brooklyn Public Library - BPL is offering limited funding to libraries in the United States to launch programming for teens and young adults focused on the freedom to read. Proposals are open to all types and sizes of libraries within the United States.
July 11 | 12-3 PM | Detroit, MI @ Arts & Scraps | Zine making workshop with Midnight Care Collective. Preview event leading up to Mini Black Zine Fair!
June 12 - July 13 | Thursdays & Sundays, 6-8pm | NYC Black Reading Room. Presented by Black Zine Fair and hosted by Secret Riso Club, the Black Reading Room is an intimate, living archive that honors the past, present, and future of radical Black publishing. Free and open to the public.
Deadline: July 15 | St. Louis, MO | Apply to table at SLICE.
July 19 | 11 am to 4 pm at Harold Washington Library Center Chicago Zine Fest
July 20 | Seattle, Capitol Hill Seattle Zine Fest
July 27 | Virtual | 3–4:30PM ET North Stars: Giants of Detroit’s Literary Community
July 29 - 31 | United for Libraries Virtual: Trustees – Friends – Foundations by ALA
Later this year:
August 9 | 11am - 6pm | Detroit, MI @ Bulk space. Mini Black Zine Fair.
August 9,10 | Kingston, NY 11am to 6 pm at 25 Dederick Street 3rd Annual CPW Photobook and Zine Fair
August 23, 24 | Minneapolis Insert Name Zine Fest. More details and events leading up to it here.
September 19 | NYC @ Queens Central Library, Jamaica, QueensThe Urban Librarians Conference
To add to the list of zine fests, the Louisiana Zine Fest will be at the East Baton Rouge Public Library’s Main Branch on Goodwood on August 1. Zinesters are invited to sign up through mid July.
Www.louisianazinefest.com