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I joined the oldest and most overlooked library in my town – and it feels like being part of a secret club | Dellaram Vreeland

https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2025/nov/02/local-library-books-mechanics-institute

Published: November 1, 2025 23:00

The Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute has had a reading room for 165 years but today it has just 530 members – and tens of thousands of book lovers are missing outSign up for the Rural Network email newsletterI love my local libraries. I adore the staff, the…

Stephen King’s son among writers boycotting British Library event in solidarity with striking workers

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/31/writers-boycott-british-library-striking-workers-joe-hill-tales-of-the-weird

Published: October 31, 2025 15:51

King’s son, Joe Hill, joins V Castro and Keith Rosson in withdrawing from the Tales of the Weird festival this weekend in support of industrial actionHorror authors are used to pushing the boundaries of fiction, but for some in the field there’s one…

James Mosley obituary

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/oct/30/james-mosley-obituary

Published: October 30, 2025 18:01

James Mosley, who has died aged 90, was an esteemed librarian, teacher, historian and typographic scholar.From 1956 to 2000, James worked at the St Bride Foundation Printing Library in London, becoming one of its most knowledgable and dedicated custodians.…

A 3,200km tour of small Australian libraries taught me just how vital they are | Paul Daley

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/oct/21/library-local-australian-public-libraries-visits-community-hub

Published: October 21, 2025 03:58

In the sleepiest towns I found bustling, light-filled places eager for conversations about books and writingThat Australians have turned to local libraries in record numbers comes as no surprise. I’ve just returned from a speaking tour of regional and…

The Pushkin job: unmasking the thieves behind an international rare books heist

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2025/oct/07/the-pushkin-job-unmasking-the-thieves-behind-an-international-rare-books-heist

Published: October 7, 2025 04:00

Between 2022 and 2023, as many as 170 rare and valuable editions of Russian classics were stolen from libraries across Europe. Were the thieves merely low-level opportunists, or were bigger forces at work?On 16 October 2023, a young man and woman sat down…

The Librarians review – the heroic women battling against book bans and censorship

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2025/sep/24/the-librarians-review-the-heroic-women-battling-against-book-bans-and-censorship

Published: September 24, 2025 12:00

Kim A Snyder’s documentary highlights the defenders of young readers’ rights to see their lives in print facing rightwing attacksThere is real and genuine fear about young people’s use of pornography; usually, that conversation is about exposure to porn…

Warsaw opens metro station ‘express’ library to get commuters off their phones

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/sep/07/warsaw-opens-metro-station-express-library-smartphones

Published: September 7, 2025 09:36

Metroteka aims to encourage people to read more in country that lost majority of libraries in second world warAn “express” library has opened in a new metro station in Warsaw, aiming to provide an appealing cultural space to encourage residents and…

Juliet Congreve obituary

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2025/sep/03/juliet-congreve-obituary

Published: September 3, 2025 10:08

My mother, Juliet Congreve, who has died aged 76, was a pioneer in library automation and later had a successful university teaching career specialising in human-computer interaction. For most of her professional life, she worked at Middlesex University.In…

‘A privilege and a great pleasure’: inside the 5,000-item Stephen Sondheim collection

https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2025/jul/22/a-privilege-and-a-great-pleasure-inside-the-5000-item-stephen-sondheim-collection

Published: July 22, 2025 09:21

A treasure trove of manuscripts, notebooks and recordings from the theatre legend has been acquired by the Library of Congress in Washington DCMark Horowitz had done his homework before Stephen Sondheim came to visit. He filled the room with scores by…

Reform councillor’s boast about removing ‘trans-ideological’ books from children’s library sections falls flat

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/jul/04/reform-councillors-boast-about-removing-trans-ideological-books-from-childrens-library-sections-falls-flat

Published: July 4, 2025 19:14

Paul Webb said he ensured books and material were pulled from children’s section of Kent libraries, but it emerges they were never thereA boast by a Reform UK councillor that he ensured the removal of “trans-ideological material and books” from the…