How Teaching A.I. to Speak Cajun Can Help Save a Language; The New York Times, June 27, 2026

Jonathan Abrams, The New York Times; How Teaching A.I. to Speak Cajun Can Help Save a Language

By feeding centuries-old nursery rhymes and folklore recordings into their own model, linguists in Louisiana hope to help a community control its digital destiny.

"Louisiana French, the oral dialect of which Balfa was a cultural guardian, is part of the Bayou’s societal DNA, a link to its history, music and identity. Today, Caffery described the language as struggling and endangered, a notion reinforced by Alexa’s overlooking Balfa.

In response, Caffery assembled a small team at the center to train its own language learning model in automatic speech recognition for Louisiana French, drawing from a trove of historical artifacts and interviews.

Over the months, as the learning language model is trained on bits of the language — such as an old-age French nursery rhyme — it brings centuries-old dialect closer into the digital age."

Ann Patchett to Receive 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction; Library of Congress, June 23, 2026

 Library of Congress; Ann Patchett to Receive 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction

"The Library of Congress has announced that the 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction will be awarded to Ann Patchett at the National Book Festival on Aug. 22.

The annual Prize for American Fiction, one of the Library’s most prestigious awards, honors an American literary writer whose body of work is distinguished by its mastery of the art, as well as its originality of thought and imagination.

“Ann Patchett crafts moving, probing, tender novels. She has a talent for creating fiction that readers continually devour because she thinks deeply and writes evocatively about human connection,” said Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen. “I am thrilled that she is the 2026 Library of Congress Prize for American Fiction recipient.”

The award seeks to recognize strong, unique, enduring voices that, throughout long and consistently accomplished careers, have told us something about the American experience.

“The Library of Congress is one of our nation’s noblest institutions, and it’s full of librarians, who I consider to be the very noblest of people. I am grateful for this award and honored by the association,” said Patchett.

Recipient of the PEN/Faulkner Award, the United Kingdom’s Women's Prize for Fiction and, most recently, the PEN/Audible Literary Service Award, among other honors, Patchett is the author of 10 novels, including “The Dutch House” (Pulitzer Prize finalist), “The Patron Saint of Liars,” “Bel Canto,” “Commonwealth” and “Taft,” as well as nonfiction and children’s books. She was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World and received the National Humanities Medal in recognition of her contributions to American culture. Her books have been translated into more than 30 languages.

Nearly 15 years ago, Patchett opened Parnassus Books in Nashville, Tennessee. She has since become an advocate for independent booksellers, championing books and bookstores. She was the inaugural ambassador for the Book Industry Charitable Foundation and founded the Parnassus Books Foundation, which gives books to children in Title I schools in Nashville.

Patchett will discuss her latest book, “Whistler,” most recently the New York Times No. 1 bestseller, at the 2026 National Book Festival. The novel tells the story of a chance reunion of a grown daughter and her long-lost former stepfather whom she knew briefly during her childhood. Despite the many years that have passed, their indelible bond is evident as they revisit and reflect on the unique trajectories of their lives, revealing the transformative power of reconnection.

For more information on the prize, including previous winners, visit https://www.loc.gov/programs/poetry-and-literature/prizes/fiction-prize/."

Archiving with AI; Library Journal, June 8, 2026

 Matt Enis, Library Journal; Archiving with AI

"AI companies are offering some libraries funding for digitization projects, but archives and special collections are working through how to manage projects responsibly

“Imagine a world where you know things but cannot say where you learned them,” begins “Memory Without Origin,” a paper published in April by University of Virginia (UVA) Dean of Libraries and University Librarian Leo S. Lo. This isn’t a hypothetical question, Lo notes, it’s a predictable consequence if libraries allow generative artificial intelligence (AI) to ingest archival materials as training data without requiring provenance conditions. And libraries, which could always use funding for projects involving digitization, special collections, and archives, are being approached by AI companies with deep pockets.

“They’ve been approaching a lot of larger research libraries, including Oxford and many more,” Lo tells LJ. (Oxford’s Bodleian Libraries began a digitization pilot project funded by ChatGPT maker OpenAI last year.) “Usually the offer is: they will pay you to digitize materials—which we want, because we want to make them more accessible—and in return, depending on the deal…they would like to have the data to train their AI models.”

These partnerships can benefit both parties, but for libraries, the consequences of getting these arrangements wrong “are more permanent than anything the profession has previously encountered,” Lo writes. “Once archival materials are absorbed into foundation model weights, no subsequent institutional action can remove them from the model.” If proper care isn’t taken, that information becomes unmoored from its former context within an archive."

Mozart manuscript discovered at French National Library to be performed for the first time; Le Monde, June 19, 2026

  Marie-Aude Roux, Le Monde; Mozart manuscript discovered at French National Library to be performed for the first time

The music notebook, found in the archives, dates from the composer's final stay in Paris, in 1778. The seven short pieces for flute and harp it contains will be broadcast for the first time ever on June 22 on France Musique radio.

"The seven short pieces for flute and harp are part of an autograph manuscript by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, recently rediscovered in the music department of the French National Library (BNF). This is a major discovery, as the genius of the Austrian composer continues to shine at the heart of European culture."

A bonanza for fans of the natural world: the digital library sharing 64m pages of scientific knowledge with everyone; The Guardian, June 18, 2026

Donna Ferguson, The Guardian; A bonanza for fans of the natural world: the digital library sharing 64m pages of scientific knowledge with everyone

"Over the past 20 years, more than 64m pages have been made freely available through the Biodiversity Heritage Library (BHL) – a digital treasure trove for fans of the natural world. More than 680 museums, universities, libraries and scientific institutions from China, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand to Europe, Africa, Mexico, Canada and the US, have contributed to the library.

This week, a report from Royal Botanic Gardens (RBG), Kew revealed the crucial role digitisation is playing in “transforming our ability to understand and respond to the climate and biodiversity crises”, but it was the creation of the BHL 20 years ago that first demonstrated how bringing centuries of scientific knowledge online can unlock transformative discoveries and insights about the natural world.

David Iggulden, who chairs the BHL executive committee alongside his job as head of data and digital, library and archives at RBG Kew, describes the library as an invaluable and “absolutely essential” resource for scientists in the field. But it is also used by scientific researchers, environmental historians, educators, art historians, artists, citizen scientists and members of the public who – like Iggulden – simply enjoy browsing its contents on a rainy weekend.

“I just get caught up in it sometimes, looking at the various collections,” he says. “I think it’s amazing that we can explore such a vast array of different collections from very different institutions.”

As well as published biodiversity literature and journals, there are letters, illustrations, climate records, field diaries, ecosystem profiles, distribution records and manuscripts containing the original collecting stories of a particular species or detailing voyages of discovery."

11 Questions: Sarah Lamdan: Meet the director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom; American Libraries, June 16, 2026

 American Libraries; 11 Questions: Sarah Lamdan

Meet the director of ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom

"Earlier this year, Sarah Lamdan was promoted to executive director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) after joining the Association in 2024 as OIF deputy director.

Prior to joining ALA, Lamdan was a librarian and law professor at City University of New York School of Law, where her research focused on information access, privacy, and other legal issues related to librarianship. She is author of two books, most recently Data Cartels (Stanford University Press, 2022), which looks at privacy and access as they relate to data analytics companies and platforms.

Lamdan answered our 11 Questions to introduce herself to ALA members...

Best career advice you’ve ever received?

The best advice I’ve ever received is to be honest and transparent about what you know and what you don’t know. When you work with a team, everything goes better when nobody’s left in the dark. (I’ll make an exception for surprise parties!) It’s also okay not to know everything. Often, the best response is “I’m not sure, but I can find out.” There are so many things to know, and there’s no way you know them all!

What drew you to librarianship and ALA?

I decided to become a librarian after I started law school. A professor at University of Kansas sent me to the campus archives to transcribe some letters by Susan B. Anthony. The archivists and librarians were so helpful, and the letters were so neat. I wanted to do more work like that. The librarians at my law school took me under their wings as I pursued an MLIS and a law degree. At Emporia (Kans.) State University’s School of Library and Information Management, I was drawn to intellectual freedom topics. Working at ALA’s Office for Intellectual Freedom (OIF) was a dream job! I feel so lucky to do this work."

Little Queer Libraries offer banned books across the Pittsburgh region; Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, June 16, 2026

 SONO MOTOYAMA, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ; Little Queer Libraries offer banned books across the Pittsburgh region

The Pittsburgh Equality Center has stocked free libraries at community spaces in Pittsburgh and three counties

"Inspired by those colorful outdoor boxes that invite you to take books or small objects for free, the Pittsburgh Equality Center has launched a network of Little Queer Libraries in time for Pride Month.

“I saw all these little free libraries out there in people’s lawns and throughout neighborhoods, and I thought, well, we could put LGBTQ+ literature in those,” said Ray Sidney-Smith, president and board chair of the Pittsburgh Equality Center.

In keeping with the nonprofit’s mission to advocate and support the LGBTQ+ community, it is supplying a selection of adult, young adult and children’s literature in accessible sites around the region. Borrowers can take the books and then return them when they’re done.

Community members can also donate books by placing them inside the libraries or by contacting the center.   

The center has made a point of stocking the boxes with titles on the list of books banned by public schools and libraries compiled by the writers organization PEN America.

“We are saddened that our rights are under attack in a lot of ways, and the LGBTQ+ community deserves the ability to access books [that reflect] all of our identities readily and accessibly,” Sidney-Smith said...

The first five libraries — out of projected 10 — are at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg; Penn Hills Library; Garfield’s Soft Spot Café; SoulLumination, a Canonsburg spiritual and wellness center; and Proud Haven, a North Side organization serving LGBTQIA+ youth.

Each library holds 10-20 books and the first five were designed and painted by volunteers."

Attempt to ban book at SLO County school library denied by board; The Tribune, June 13, 2026

Sadie Dittenber, The Tribune ; Attempt to ban book at SLO County school library denied by board

"The Lucia Mar school board rejected an effort to ban a prize-winning author’s book from the Arroyo Grande High School library at a meeting on Thursday.

The novel “The Bluest Eye” by Toni Morrison will remain in the Arroyo Grande High School library — despite an effort to have it removed from the shelves due to sexual content and other concerns...

Arroyo Grande English teacher Nicholas Kennedy wore a T-shirt that read “Probably reading Toni Morrison” to the meeting. He reminded board members that the book in question is not required reading, and that students — and their parents — can choose whether or not they read it...

Pham took issue with some of the syntax used in the novel, which she described as growing progressively worse throughout the book — but her comment drew sharp disagreement from board president Stewart. 

“Well, we can’t be afraid of different cultures’ patois, and they way they speak, right?” Stewart responded. “That’s racism.”"

Musk’s Starlink hooked rural customers. Then came the price increases.; The Washington Post, June 11, 2026

 Faiz Siddiqui , The Washington Post; Musk’s Starlink hooked rural customers. Then came the price increases.

[Kip Currier: Unfortunately, Starlink raising prices on Internet access for rural customers is absolutely no surprise. This is what happens when administrations implement anti-competitive policies that enable monopolistic economic conditions.

Indeed, I commented on this kind of foreseeable scenario one year ago, in June 2025: See https://kipcurrierethics.blogspot.com/2025/06/trump-admin-tells-pennsylvania-other.html]

"Starlink told some U.S. customers last month it was raising prices and increased the cost of most plans for a service that counts millions of users across the country.

“I can complain about Starlink raising their prices, but it’s the only real option we have,” said Slama, a Republican and former Nebraska state senator. “Once they have rural customers on their service with no meaningful alternatives, they’re free to raise prices at will.”

Musk has long billed Starlink as a lifeline: an internet service that will finally bring reliable connectivity to people in the world’s rural and off-the-grid locales.

As its parent company moves toward an IPO, rural broadbandadvocates say the company has begun to squeeze its isolated U.S. users, raising prices in areas where options are limited and striving to box out competition.

SpaceX has lobbied against federal spending that would benefit Starlink’s rural broadband alternatives, calling the issue it targets “effectively … solved,” an assertion disputed by advocates for wider broadband access and many residents of rural areas."

Book bans in Washington County School District may have flouted state law; St. George News, June 9, 2026

Eric Peterson, The Utah Investigative Journalism Project, St. George News; Book bans in Washington County School District may have flouted state law

"Ed. note: The following story was reported by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project in partnership with Utah News Dispatch and St. George News.

A law passed in 2024 allows just three school districts to decide what books can be removed from school library shelves across the state for obscene content. Records obtained by The Utah Investigative Journalism Project now indicate one of the most prolific school districts for banning books may have been doing so in violation of state law, leading to the removal of “obscene” books statewide based on recommendations from book-ban activists."

Draft of King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ found at Virginia seminary archives; Episcopal News Service, June 5, 2026

 Adelle M. Banks , Episcopal News Service; Draft of King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ found at Virginia seminary archives

[Kip Currier: The recent finding of a draft of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s 1963 "Letter from Birmingham Jail", within a collection of archived papers at Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), is a persuasive and tangible reminder of the importance of preserving and providing access to historical and archival records. It's also a compelling example of the need for dedicated stewards of information with expertise and a commitment to fiduciary shepherding of the world's knowledge and human culture.

As both a long-time space exploration aficionado and author of the 2025 Bloomsbury book Ethics, Information, and Technology -- which examines issues like supporting access to information and preserving historical records -- I can't help but recall the Trump 2.0 administration's decision to close NASA's research library at the Goddard Space Flight Center in January 2026. As reported in a New York Times article (December 31, 2025):

The Trump administration is closing NASA’s largest research library on Friday, a facility that houses tens of thousands of books, documents and journals — many of them not digitized or available anywhere else.

Jacob Richmond, a NASA spokesman, said the agency would review the library holdings over the next 60 days and some material would be stored in a government warehouse while the rest would be tossed away.

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/31/climate/nasa-goddard-library-closing.html

What items were "tossed away" that might someday have yielded new insights and discoveries? What library holdings were/are "stored in a government warehouse" that might one day reveal as-yet-unknown knowledge and enable new inventions and innovations?

Libraries, archives, and museums are vital societal organizations for advancing and safeguarding knowledge, promoting informed citizenries, and providing access to information -- now and for generations to come.

Works of fiction, too, have long recognized the critical need and value of libraries, archives, and museums. As just one example, watch/rewatch Rogue One (2016) -- perhaps the best Star Wars movie ever (and my own favorite) -- to see [spoiler alert] how libraries/archives set the stage for eventually defeating Darth Vader and the evil Empire in later films.]

[Excerpt from Draft of King’s ‘Letter from Birmingham Jail’ found at Virginia seminary archives. (June 5, 2026). Episcopal News Service.]

"Within a red binder, each of its typewritten pages encased in plastic sleeves, sits an early draft of the famous letter written by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as he was held in a jail in Birmingham, Alabama.

Ten pages that once were considered for the 1963 “Letter from Birmingham Jail” were discovered in March by a graduate student concluding an internship by examining papers donated to the African American Episcopal Historical Collection, a joint venture of the Virginia Theological Seminary and the Historical Society of the Episcopal Church.

The draft was found in the papers of Bishop John M. Burgess, the first African American to serve as an Episcopal diocesan bishop, and his wife, Esther. The papers, donated by the daughters of the couple that was active in the Civil Rights Movement, are housed at the seminary near Washington, D.C.

“I screamed, but I also wept,” said Riley Temple, the collection’s growth specialist, of seeing the letter, with its yellowed pages, for the first time.

He views it as a part of the “big year” of 1963 that featured a list of changes and challenges, including the desegregation of the University of Alabama, the March on Washington and the bombing of the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church in Birmingham."

President Trump seeks control of science funding; NPR, June 3, 2026

 Katia Riddle, NPR; President Trump seeks control of science funding

"The Trump administration is pursuing a bureaucratic rule change that could allow for greater political influence over billions of dollars in federal research grants. The new rule would have a broad impact on research fields, including housing and transportation. Health and science funding would be most significantly affected...

Published in the Federal Register on May 29, experts say the proposed changes would both codify the administration's strategies to dismantle certain fields of study in the U.S. and lend it new authority to "advance the President's policy priorities."...

Under the new rule, peer review would not be eliminated, but political appointees — not necessarily scientists — would be required to review grants before awards are made. Critics say that effectively gives political officials veto power over projects, even when they have passed scientific peer review."

‘Like a Klingon prison’: inside Barack Obama’s audacious, near-windowless, $850m presidential library; The Guardian, June 2, 2026

 Oliver Wainwright , The Guardian; ‘Like a Klingon prison’: inside Barack Obama’s audacious, near-windowless, $850m presidential library

"It faces on to the sledging hill, which was originally to house a subterranean archive, until it was decided that this would be the first presidential library that wasn’t actually a library. (This may be why its official title is the Obama Presidential Center.) To the concern of some historians, Obama’s is the first entirely digital presidential archive, the centre run not by the National Archives, but by his own private foundation, raising concerns over its objectivity. Where once there would have been stacks, there are now 400 parking spaces (despite Obama’s promotion of public transit, this is still the US).

The physical records might not be on site, but the professed aim to transform the presidential library from a scholarly research centre to a bustling hub of community activity is an admirable ambition. “We didn’t build [the centre] to celebrate my ability to bring about change,” Obama declares in a promotional video. “We did it to unlock yours.” It is not just a library, but a “campus dedicated to supporting future change makers”.

The transformational change, he hopes, will happen inside the enigmatic tower where, for $30 a ticket, visitors are transported through four floors of an immersive, interactive Obama experience – a vertical Obamarama. Designed by Ralph Appelbaum Associates, it is an action-packed romp through the couple’s life story, beginning with the civil rights movements that inspired them, their political campaigns, achievements in office, life in the White House, and how you too can “bring change home” (a motto printed on the gift shop bag)...

Just like his presidency, the Obama campus was no doubt conceived with the best of intentions. And, as with his time in office, the impact of this mighty stone monument to hope looks set to be equally mixed."

Book Surfaces 120 Years After a San Francisco Library Lost Almost Everything; The New York Times, June 1, 2026

 Adeel Hassan, The New York Times; Book Surfaces 120 Years After a San Francisco Library Lost Almost Everything;

"Randall Tarpey-Schwed, a book collector and library member, found the book on a website that deals in, among other things, rare books and collectibles. How it reached that previous owner is unknown.

Mr. Tarpey-Schwed said he was curious whether any books had survived the 1906 earthquake and fires, by virtue of having been checked out.

“There was no place to return the book, at least for a while, or to reapply Gertrude Stein’s famous quote, there was no ‘there there’ to return the book to,” he said.

“The book is not worth much monetarily,” Mr. Tarpey-Schwed said. “It is, after all, a soot-stained book with a lot of old library stamps. But as a survivor, it is priceless, and I knew immediately I wanted to return it to the library.”

The book’s author, Bret Harte, might have been a library member, Mr. Cooper said. Many writers and artists have been members, he said, but full membership records from before the earthquake are gone."

Americans Want to Read. Give Them Books.; The New York Times, May 31, 2026

Brian Bannon, The New York Times; Americans Want to Read. Give Them Books.

"More New Yorkers are borrowing books from the New York Public Library today than 15 years ago; borrowing is up 27 percent since 2010. And yet America is facing a book-reading crisis...

Libraries themselves were throwing up barriers to reading...

The reading crisis is real. But we don’t need new inventions to build a reading city. Exempt books from sales taxes the way we exempt prescription medicine. Invest in library collections and reduce wait lists for books. Open nonprofit and hybrid bookstoreswhen the market alone cannot sustain them. Build on the models that already work: reading in laundromats, libraries in transit systems, books in barbershops, classrooms, homes and pediatric offices."

After 88 Days of Censored News, TV and Chat, Iranians Are Coming Back Online; The New York Times, May 27, 2026

 Erika Solomon and Sanam Mahoozi , The New York Times; After 88 Days of Censored News, TV and Chat, Iranians Are Coming Back Online

The government is letting people connect with the world after a near-total internet shutdown. But not everyone has access, and those who do wonder how long it will last.

"For 88 days, they could not chat with family or friends online. Their access to independent news, or to the websites they needed to run their businesses, was blocked. Simple pleasures, like streaming their favorite television shows, were denied them.

Now, after what activists say was the longest nationwide internet shutdown in history, Iran’s government seems to be restoring access. Many Iranians are reconnecting to the world, eager to resume the online habits most people take for granted."

Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting

  Brockovich AI Data Center Reporting

""The RACE to build AI infrastructures is unfolding town by town across America. In some places, data centers are welcomed. In others, they are delayed, contested or abandoned altogether. This MAP captures the real-world footprint of that race — revealing patterns of growth, conflict and uncertainty.

I am watching as YOU, the communities show up and speak out. In the famous words of Mark Twain … “The secret of getting ahead is getting started,” so let’s go!

— Erin""

Erin Brockovich Asks Americans for Help as She Launches Data Center Map; Newsweek, May 25, 2026

Joe Edwards and Kate Plummer, Newsweek; Erin Brockovich Asks Americans for Help as She Launches Data Center Map

"Environmental activist Erin Brockovich is appealing to the public for help after launching a website to report data center concerns as the rapid expansion of AI-driven facilities across the United States increasingly clashes with local communities.

The appeal threatens to thrust an iconic anti-corporate activist into the heart of the battle to expand AI infrastructure at a time of growing public skepticism about the technology's impact on jobs, safety and the environment.

The website, brockovichdatacenter.com, lists several “key concerns” surrounding such data centers, including high energy consumption that drives environmental impacts and costs, substantial water use for cooling that can strain local supplies, increased e‑waste from frequent hardware upgrades, exposure to location risks such as natural disasters or geopolitical instability, growing scalability pressures that can outpace local infrastructure, and constant noise from cooling systems and generators that can disrupt nearby communities."

Ousted library director wins $475,000 settlement in discrimination lawsuit against Montgomery County; Houston Public Media, May 22, 2026

 

Kyle McClenagan

, Houston Public Media ; Ousted library director wins $475,000 settlement in discrimination lawsuit against Montgomery County

"Rhea Young, who served as the director of the Montgomery County library system from 2022 until her termination in January 2025, sued the county last year, alleging she was fired in retaliation for refusing to segregate and limit access to books containing LGBTQ+ themes or ideas. On Wednesday, commissioners for the Houston-area county approved the settlement following a closed-door discussion.

Young will receive $475,000 as part of the settlement, of which $206,797 will be used for attorney's fees, according to a copy of the settlement shared with Houston Public Media." 

Budget cuts mean some Missouri kids won’t get free books through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library; St. Louis Public Library, May 21, 2026

 Rebecca Thiele , St. Louis Public Library; Budget cuts mean some Missouri kids won’t get free books through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library

"The state will no longer be able to send all Missouri children free books through Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library. The program set up by the famous country artist mails age-appropriate books to children from birth to age 5.

Missouri lawmakers cut the Imagination Library’s budget for the upcoming fiscal year by more than half, from about $6 million to $2 million.

The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education said it won’t have the money to enroll new children in the program after next month. The department said kids who are enrolled now will continue to receive books as funding allows.

Education department officials said they could potentially partner with local programs or private donors to revive the Imagination Library."