Library News
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UCLA Library funds 30 international cultural preservation projects
The UCLA Library’s Modern Endangered Archives Program (MEAP) has awarded 30 grants to its eighth annual cohort. Selected from a record 250 applications, the projects span 21 countries and focus on safeguarding at-risk archival collections documenting community memory and history. Since launching in 2018 with support from Arcadia (a charitable fund of Lisbet Rausing and…
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Who Is Government Information For? Information Stewardship Forum 2026 Report
Democracy’s Library, a project of the Internet Archive, aims to make U.S. government publications and information broadly accessible while also building community among those who work with it. In March 2026 the Internet Archive hosted the Information Stewardship Forum, a three-day convening of 120 participants from libraries, archives, journalism, research, policy, philanthropy, nonprofits, technology, and…
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ITHAKA Fall 2026 Community Letter: AI at JSTOR
In the ITHAKA Fall 2026 Community Letter dated September 23, 2026, Kevin Guthrie addresses how artificial intelligence is transforming research and learning while reaffirming that ITHAKA’s mission remains unchanged. AI is altering how people discover, evaluate, and engage with scholarly resources. Researchers and learners increasingly begin with questions rather than keyword searches. They seek conversational…
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New Resources from FADGI on Content Authenticity and Provenance for AI-impacted Content
The Federal Agencies Digital Guidelines Initiative (FADGI) released two new draft resources open for public comment: “TCR4CAP: Tiered Community Recommendations for Content Authenticity and Provenance, with a focus on LAM collections content impacted by artificial intelligence” and a supporting technical assessment report on audiovisual collections. These aim to help libraries, archives, and museums document authenticity…
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New York Performing Arts Library Gets $60 Million Gift for Preservation
The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts has received a $60 million anonymous donation, the largest in its history, timed to its 60th anniversary. The funds will support a five-year effort to digitize, preserve, and catalog its 15-million-item archive of rare recordings, manuscripts, production photos, and other materials. Priority will go to fragile…
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HathiTrust receives grant to deliver AI-enabled access to digital books
HathiTrust received a $5 million, five-year Mellon Foundation grant, partnering with Northeastern University Library and Authors Alliance, to develop responsible AI tools for discovering and analyzing its 19 million digitized volumes. The Transparent Books project will improve metadata, enable interactive search, and provide verified resources for scholarly and public-interest use. https://www.hathitrust.org/press-post/hathitrust-receives-grant-to-deliver-ai-enabled-access-to-digital-books/
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Schmidt Sciences Awards $11M For AI In Humanities
Schmidt Sciences has awarded $11 million to up to 23 research teams worldwide to develop and apply artificial intelligence tools tailored to humanities fields including archaeology, history, literature, and related disciplines. The Humanities and AI Virtual Institute (HAVI) aims to overcome limitations of current AI models, which are trained primarily on contemporary data and modern…
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How does the First Amendment govern liability for AI?
Drawing on cases like Winter v. G.P. Putnam’s Sons (no liability for a faulty mushroom guide) and New York Times v. Sullivan, this FIRE article argues that First Amendment principles protect AI outputs from broad tort liability. Nearly 100 lawsuits seek to hold developers accountable via products liability or negligence for harmful advice. Courts have…
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‘I’m not a programmer’ anymore: Linus Torvalds on the only two tools he uses now
At the Open Source Summit in Mumbai, Linux creator Linus Torvalds made a striking admission: “I’m not a programmer, I’m a development lead.” In an interview with ZDNet’s Steven J. Vaughan-Nichols, Torvalds revealed that his daily workflow now relies on just two tools—Git and email—plus Google for lookups. While he still writes small patches, they…
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Speech or Silence? The Future of the First Amendment in Higher Education
The House Education and Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development, chaired by Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT), convened a hearing titled “Speech or Silence? The Future of the First Amendment in Higher Education” on April 29, 2026. The hearing examined growing concerns over free expression and intellectual diversity on American college campuses. Citing…
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U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon Visits Oregon on the Returning Education to the States Tour
U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon visited Central Oregon on April 20, 2026, as part of her nationwide “Returning Education to the States Tour.” The 50-state initiative seeks to gather best practices from local schools and colleges to compile a toolkit for distribution nationwide. During her visit, McMahon toured Crook County High School in Prineville,…
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Why Fascists Fear Free Speech
The Nation article examines escalating threats to press freedom under the Trump administration, focusing on FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s March 2026 warning that broadcasters risk license revocation if they air “fake news” or coverage contradicting MAGA doctrine regarding the Iran war. President Trump amplified the threat on Truth Social, declaring non-compliant networks should be “FIRED.”…