Library News
-
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…
-
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/
-
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…
-
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…
-
‘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…
-
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…
-
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,…
-
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.”…
-
Education Department Finalizes New Rule on Campus Free Speech
The Department of Education has finalized a controversial rule implementing a Trump executive order that ties federal research and education grants to campus free speech protections. Under the regulation, public institutions must comply with the First Amendment, while private institutions must adhere to their own stated free speech policies, as conditions for receiving funding. The…
-
Federal judge rules against restrictive Pentagon press policy
U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman on March 20 blocked a controversial Pentagon press policy that sought to severely restrict journalists’ access to information. The October 2025 policy, issued by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, would have barred news outlets from reporting information not officially sanctioned, deeming journalists who sought unofficial information “security risks” subject to credential…
-
Environmental Health Advances launches as newest ARC Alliance diamond-open-access journal
The Academic Research Community (ARC) Alliance has officially launched Environmental Health Advances (EHA), a new diamond open-access journal dedicated to environmental health sciences. The publication will focus on advancing knowledge about toxicant-induced disease while highlighting strategies to protect and improve human health. Led by a distinguished team of editors-in-chief from five major research institutions—Dana Dolinoy…
-
In Camps, Under Trees and Evicted: Farmworkers and People Living Close to the Line in Northern California
UC Davis Library hosts “In Camps, Under Trees and Evicted,” a traveling exhibition featuring 80+ photographs by labor photographer David Bacon. The collection documents 35 years of farmworkers and impoverished communities in Northern California—from labor camps and homeless encampments to organizing efforts like the 14-year Diamond Walnut strike. Bacon’s work highlights both the invisibility of…