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Weekly News Digest
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March 25, 2025 — In addition to this week's NewsBreaks article and the monthly NewsLink Spotlight, Information Today, Inc. (ITI) offers Weekly News Digests that feature recent product news and company announcements. Watch for additional coverage to appear in the next print issue of Information Today.
CLICK HERE to view more Weekly News Digest items.
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Statements Continue Condemning the Trump Administration's Proposed Gutting of IMLS
The following are additional reactions to the Trump administration’s March 14 executive order threatening to defund IMLS that NewsBreaks began tracking in Library Community Rallies to Save IMLS and More Reactions to the Executive Order Targeting IMLS.On March 19, IFLA announced, “IFLA Calls for the Reversal of Cuts to IMLS, Archives, Restrictions on Freedom of Research in the United States.” It notes, “We echo the position of the American Library Association in deploring the cuts announced to IMLS, which plays such a valuable role in supporting libraries to realise their potential, as well as offering a model globally. The cuts will not just hurt the employees of IMLS, but the millions who rely on libraries to enjoy their rights and fulfil their potential.” PEN America shared on March 21, “Gutting Federal Library and Museum Funding Agency Will Undermine the Freedoms to Read and Learn.” Jonathan Friedman, Sy Syms managing director of U.S. free expression programs at the organization, says in part, “From access to Braille books for the blind to high speed internet access to those in need, our libraries provide core services for our communities. By making it harder to access libraries, this move inhibits the ability of all people to exercise their freedom to read and learn. As an organization dedicated to books and literature, we call on Congress to ensure the IMLS remains strong, independent, and robustly funded.” On March 21, EveryLibrary posted “The Surprising Work of IMLS, the Institute for Museum and Library Services,” which lists five functions that wouldn’t necessarily be top of mind when discussing IMLS. Also on March 21, Kelly Jensen at Book Riot reported, “The Institute for Museum and Library Services Is Now a Propaganda Machine,” writing: We also know that Deputy Secretary of Labor Keith E. Sonderling was sworn in as the Acting Director of the agency. This new leadership came with another press release, posted to the IMLS website. It’s deeply concerning, and it points to what the future of the IMLS will look like under the direction of this administration. Read Jensen’s article to parse the new language coming from IMLS.
The Atlantic Explores How AI Tools Pirate Books
Alex Reisner writes the following in “The Unbelievable Scale of AI’s Pirated-Books Problem” for The Atlantic:To show the kind of work that has been used by Meta and OpenAI, I accessed a snapshot of [piracy site] LibGen’s metadata—revealing the contents of the library without downloading or distributing the books or research papers themselves—and used it to create an interactive database that you can search. … Meta and OpenAI have both argued in court that it’s ‘fair use’ to train their generative-AI models on copyrighted work without a license, because LLMs ‘transform’ the original material into new work. … All of this certainly makes knowledge and literature more accessible, but it relies entirely on the people who create that knowledge and literature in the first place—that labor that takes time, expertise, and often money. For more information, read the article (registration required).
Education Stakeholders Fight for E-Rate Funding for Wi-Fi Hotspots
Keely Quinlan writes the following in “School, Library Groups Ask Senate to Preserve Rule Allowing E-Rate Funds to Be Spent on Wi-Fi Hotspots” for StateScoop:In an open letter, nearly three dozen K-12 education and library groups asked that senators vote against a measure that would reverse a rule change made last year that allows schools and libraries to spend E-Rate funds on wireless hotspots. The letter, which was shared on [March 10] … asks senators to vote against a resolution introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., at the end of January that would roll back the Federal Communications Commission’s decision to allow schools and libraries to spend funds received through the E-Rate program on wireless hotspots. The decision, which was made last July by a 3-2 vote from the FCC along party lines, allowed schools and libraries to apply for subsidies for internet services that extend beyond institutions’ brick and mortar buildings, such as through the loan of Wi-Fi hotspots which can be installed to extend internet connectivity on locations such as school buses. For more information, read the article.
Portico Will Preserve Ebook Central Collection Along With Future Titles
Portico “signed an agreement with Clarivate to preserve books available to academic libraries through Ebook Central. This agreement ensures the long-term preservation of this expansive collection. Portico will also receive new books added to Ebook Central in the future.”“Academic libraries need assurance that there is a reliable preservation solution in place for ebooks across all the various platforms they use, whether they are purchasing or licensing those books,” says Kate Wittenberg, Portico’s managing director. For more information, read the news item.
NISO Opens Draft Revision of Transfer Code of Practice for Public Comment
The National Information Standards Organization (NISO) made its draft revision of the Transfer Code of Practice available for public comment through May 2, 20025. “The Transfer Code of Practice is a NISO Recommended Practice to ensure continuing access to journals when titles transfer from one publisher to another,” NISO shares. “Compliance with the code helps publishers make journal content easily accessible to librarians and readers when there is a transfer between parties. It also enables the transfer process to occur with minimum disruption to manuscript submission and production processes. Over 90 publishers have endorsed the Transfer Code of Practice since it was first established as a NISO Recommended Practice in 2015.”For more information, read the press release.
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Brandi Scardilli
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