Libraries

Georgia Knecht, 4, browses a bookshelf at Riverside, California, Main Library.

A Book Is a Book Is a Book—Except When It’s an e-Book A Book Is a Book Is a Book—Except When It’s an e-Book

But corporate mega-publishers want purchasing a book to be like renting a movie or streaming an album.

Aug 30, 2023 / Maria Bustillos

Signage for Hachette Book Group

When You Buy a Book, You Can Loan It to Anyone. This Judge Says Libraries Can’t. Why Not? When You Buy a Book, You Can Loan It to Anyone. This Judge Says Libraries Can’t. Why Not?

The lawsuit against Controlled Digital Lending is about giving corporations—rather than readers, buyers, borrowers, or authors—control over content.

Apr 20, 2023 / Michelle M. Wu

USA’s Tommie Smith leading the race

Who’s Afraid of Tommie Smith? Who’s Afraid of Tommie Smith?

An Alabama school district kept Derrick Barnes, author of a book about Tommie Smith, from speaking. But the community is fighting back.

Feb 23, 2023 / Dave Zirin

Children read books in a public library near Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn, New York, New York, 1947.

Bullying Librarians Is for Know-Nothings Bullying Librarians Is for Know-Nothings

Why the GOP’s war on books is ripe for cancellation. 

Jan 31, 2023 / Katrina vanden Heuvel

There Are Still Things to Love About America

There Are Still Things to Love About America There Are Still Things to Love About America

This planet is bigger and more beautiful than nationalism and militarism allow us to see.

Jul 15, 2022 / Frida Berrigan

Book Bans Are on the Rise. But Librarians and Authors Are Fighting Back.

Book Bans Are on the Rise. But Librarians and Authors Are Fighting Back. Book Bans Are on the Rise. But Librarians and Authors Are Fighting Back.

In the past few decades in the US, book banning has taken on a decidedly more genteel character.

Feb 8, 2022 / no-paywall / Katrina vanden Heuvel

Letters Icon

Letters From the September 20/27, 2021, Issue Letters From the September 20/27, 2021, Issue

Library science… Imperial tragedies…

Sep 7, 2021 / Letters / Our Readers

The Rescue of the New York Public Library

The Rescue of the New York Public Library The Rescue of the New York Public Library

Activists—and The Nation—thwarted NYPL trustees’ harebrained plans and restored democracy to this vital public institution.

Jul 26, 2021 / Editorial / Scott Sherman

brewster

Publishers Are Taking the Internet to Court Publishers Are Taking the Internet to Court

In a lawsuit against the Internet Archive, the largest corporations in publishing want to change what it means to own a book.

Sep 10, 2020 / Maria Bustillos

Trump Leads a Government of, by, and for Bullies

Trump Leads a Government of, by, and for Bullies Trump Leads a Government of, by, and for Bullies

Where are the president and his minions on the empathy scale? Pretty damn low.

Jan 21, 2020 / Signal:Noise / Sasha Abramsky

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