News Briefs

The Library and Every Child a Reader announced the appointment of Mac Barnett as the 2025-26 national ambassador for young people’s literature.

Barnett is the author of more than 60 books for children, including “Twenty Questions,” “Sam & Dave Dig a Hole,” “A Polar Bear in the Snow” and “Extra Yarn,” as well as the popular “Mac B., Kid Spy” series of novels, “The First Cat in Space” graphic novels and “The Shapes Trilogy” picture books.

During his two-year term as ambassador, Barnett will celebrate the children’s picture book through his platform, “Behold, The Picture Book! Let’s Celebrate Stories We Can Feel, Hear, and See.”

“Picture books are a beautiful, sophisticated and vibrant art form, the source of some of the most profound reading experiences in children’s (and adults’) lives. I am, of course, excited to talk to young readers,” Barnett said.

The U.S. Copyright Office, part of the Library of Congress, released Part 2 of its report on the legal and policy issues related to copyright and artificial intelligence. This part of the report addresses the copyrightability of outputs created using generative AI.

The Copyright Office affirms that existing principles of copyright law are flexible enough to apply to this new technology, as they have applied to technological innovations in the past. It concludes that the outputs of generative AI can be protected by copyright only where a human author has determined sufficient expressive elements.

Part 1 was published last July and recommended federal legislation to respond to the unauthorized distribution of digital replicas that realistically but falsely depict an individual. The final, forthcoming Part 3 will address the legal implications of training AI models on copyrighted works.

Librarian of Congress Carla Hayden in April named 25 recordings as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.

Among the selections: Elton John’s monumental album “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road”; Miles Davis’ groundbreaking “Bitches Brew”; the original Broadway cast recording of “Hamilton”; Mary J. Blige’s “My Life”; Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black”; Microsoft’s reboot chime; and the soundtrack to the Minecraft video game phenomenon.

The recordings selected for the National Recording Registry this year bring the number of titles on the registry to 675, representing a small portion of the national library’s vast recorded sound collection of nearly 4 million items. More than 2,600 nominations were made by the public this year for recordings to consider for the registry.

Building on the success of its Live! At the Library series, the Library is piloting a new afternoon programming vertical: Afternoons with the Library.

The initial launch period will run through September 2025. The series capitalizes on the abundance of daytime events already hosted by the Library, unifying these offerings under one umbrella to expand its audience of lifelong learners and scholars with programs reflecting the institution’s vast collections.

Afternoons at the Library includes online and in-person programs scheduled Tuesday through Friday from noon to 4 p.m. Upcoming programming features an interview with NEA Jazz Master Gary Bartz, a performance of Italian classical music, the StageStruck! conference exploring women in American musical theater and an orientation to legal research, among others.