well that sucks. apparently the ALA/Freedom To Read Foundation have trademarks on the phrase "free people read freely", which i use in a lino print i made into stickers a few years ago.

i got the phrase from a 2023 speech by librarian and former ALA leader Tracie D. Hall. i didn't think to check if it was trademarked because, lol, what a wild thing to trademark. turns out the trademark had been granted two months before i made the print.

it's no big deal from a business perspective — i don't sell these stickers for much more than they cost, because i mostly just think it's an important message that i want to help people share. i've probably given away at least as many as i've sold, which i guess is now what i'll have to do with the rest.

anyway if you were wondering what happened to the stickers, now you know.

NYC, 1919: Perched on a towering pile of donated books, a librarian calls from a megaphone to request more book donations for American troops stationed in France. The American Library Association’s campaign sent up to 55,000 books each month to military camp libraries.

(via Library of Congress)

going to the library book sale “just to look” went about how you would expect

sometimes you have to choose a book by its cover. found this one while reshelving at the library this morning and am greatly looking forward to reading it.

nothing like the panic when your hold on an audiobook with a two week waitlist becomes available when you’re 12% into another one

quite relieved to discover that the library cloud lending error i was getting yesterday was due to an app outage and not my librarians deciding i needed to be cut off

If Keith Sonderling truly wanted to “ensure we preserve our country’s core values”, he would not be placing libraries “in lockstep with this Administration” and ordering them to “focus on patriotism” or “promote American exceptionalism”.

Ministry of Truth shit.

(press release)

every damn time

get library cards and use them often (online e-book and audiobook rentals count!). sign up to volunteer at your local library. donate money to your library’s general fund. run for a spot on the library board.

join and participate in your local “friends of the library” group. donate books (if your library accepts book donations). set up your own little free library. vote for library funding when it’s on your local ballot.

fill out comment cards to leave positive comments. request new materials that you’d like to see added to the stacks. like and share your library’s social media content.