It turns out libraries and librarians wield some power that Congress cares about. After President Trump fired the Librarian of Congress as well as the head of the US Copyright Office last week, Congress has decided to step in and push back.
Departments within the Library of Congress deal with sensitive information, such as providing research and confidential legal information to Congress and the Supreme Court. So representatives from both sides of the aisle expressed immediate concern that Trump appointed his former personal attorney as Librarian of Congress and a Justice Department attorney as acting Register of Copyrights and director of the Copyright Office.
According to Rolling Stone, Trump decided he needed to overhaul the LOC when he learned about library events that hosted authors and historians considered anti-Trump. LOC leadership was also targeted by conservative groups, particularly the American Accountability Foundation, for dismissal. A succinct and informative summary of the situation can be found at Law Dork.
Today, the Washington Post reports Republicans want to maintain power around the library, which is part of the legislative branch even though the president nominates its leader. “We made it clear that there needs to be a consultation around this—that there are equities that both Article I and Article II branches have [with] the Library of Congress,” Senate Majority Leader John Thune said.
The instability comes at a high-stakes moment for the publishing industry. The termination of Shira Perlmutter, Register of Copyrights, was announced just as the Copyright Office released a 100-page report on AI and copyright that concludes, in certain cases, AI training on copyrighted works does not fall under fair use. (See next item.) Ed Nawotka at Publishers Weekly reports, based on an anonymous source, that Perlmutter released the report early once she learned of her dismissal to ensure it entered the public record.
The Authors Guild has released a statement about the situation and encourages writers to contact their representative. You can also sign their petition to reinstate Shira Perlmutter.
Jane Friedman has spent her entire career working in the publishing industry, with a focus on business reporting and author education. Established in 2015, her newsletter The Bottom Line provides nuanced market intelligence to thousands of authors and industry professionals; in 2023, she was named Publishing Commentator of the Year by Digital Book World.
Jane’s expertise regularly features in major media outlets such as The New York Times, The Atlantic, NPR, The Today Show, Wired, The Guardian, Fox News, and BBC. Her book, The Business of Being a Writer, Second Edition (The University of Chicago Press), is used as a classroom text by many writing and publishing degree programs. She reaches thousands through speaking engagements and workshops at diverse venues worldwide, including NYU’s Advanced Publishing Institute, Frankfurt Book Fair, and numerous MFA programs.
