Research Whisperer

“This is a triumph for everyone who values access to information, education and opportunity. Libraries can move forward with confidence that IMLS funding will be available to sustain the vital services communities rely on. However, we cannot forget that President Trump is still asking Congress to end funding for IMLS. That decision is partly in the hands of constituents. Library supporters must call on Congress to protect the future of IMLS.”  

The Copyright Amendment Bill 2026 received Royal Assent on 1 April, creating an Australian orphan works scheme that will allow use of creative materials where the copyright owner cannot be located. This world-class legislation is the result of decades of advocacy by libraries and other stakeholders, and years of consultation by the government. This will help free up thousands of works that are currently locked behind strict copyright laws, unable to be used to build new knowledge and creations, simply because no one knows who to ask for permission. The bill also includes important updates to support remote learning for schools.

"British people are the inheritors of one of the largest colonial enterprises. If we were to use some kind of acknowledgement of our own troubled past, which might help us towards a more equitable future, it could perhaps most helpfully focus on wealth and labour." - Helen Kara, on the Research Whisperer blog, 24 March 2026

Understanding that finishing is hard because it is different work to starting - that's very useful for me.