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With 2015 around the corner, it’s time to look back at this year’s notable headlines.

10. Little Scofflaws

The Little Free Library movement ran afoul of local ordinances in several locations this year.

9. IKEA Catalogue

Amidst the hoopla over 3D printers, many of us got a chuckle out of this tongue-in-cheek parody.

8. The Bottom Line

If a library visit is as good as a pay raise, does that explain librarian salaries?

7. Prix Fixe

A payout structure was established this year for the long-standing case over Apple’s illegal price-fixing practices with e-book publishers.

6. Fuhgettaboutit

Google and other search engines started removing results to comply with a new European Union ruling over the "right to be forgotten."

5. Quote of the Year

Speaking about the publishing industry, Ursula Le Guin stated, "We live in capitalism, its power seems inescapable-–but then, so did the divine right of kings."

4. Texas Textbooks

Controversy over the purported slant of social studies textbooks were again in the news this year.

3. Honorable Mention

The protests in Ferguson, Missouri were the backdrop for one positive story: the public library stayed open, and received much acclaim for doing so.

2. Open Access Baby Steps

As more authors and publishers embrace ways for their content to be freely available, questions remain about the best way to do so.

1. The Year of Discovery

"Discovery" has become a buzzword, but the way that libraries deal with new search systems is a pivotal issue.

What was your favorite library story of 2014?

Once more we look back at the notable library happenings of the past year.

Memorable Stories

10. Timbuktu Library Rescue

In January, Islamic militants torched an archive that had contained many ancient manuscripts. Fortunately, prior to this, people had removed the materials from the city.

9. The Hudson Falls Free Library Reading Contest

Tabloids loved the story of a library director who tried to take the perennial winner of a children’s reading contest out of the running. Two librarians lost their jobs over the scandal.

8. Fairfax County Library’s Dumpster

Libraries discard and destroy titles from their collections all the time, but when it’s done sloppily and in plain sight, outrage ensues.

Hip Trends

7. MOOCs! Video Games! Makerspaces! 3D Printing!

Are these nifty new avenues to reach patrons, or a feature creep beyond a library’s mission?

6. Little Free ‘Libraries’

Although perhaps better named "community bookshelves," the growth of the Little Free Library movement continued this year. How many are in your neighborhood?

5. The New Librarian Stereotype

Commenting about the latest calendar models in the profession, a LISNews poster noted, "the bun wearing shushing librarian stereotype is long dead. Now the stereotype is hipster tattooed librarians."

Big Issues

4. Open Access versus Publisher Profits

In a case of "If you have haters then you must be doing something right" (similar to the harassment of Jeffrey Beall over his list of predatory publishers), Science published a flawed hit piece on Open Access journals.

3. Metadata Wants To Be Free

As more libraries move to web-scale discovery systems, the issue of interoperable metadata will become important. A vendor dispute highlights how libraries can be caught between competing economic interests.

2. Kindle MatchBook &c.

Amazon unveiled a new e-book pricing model this year. Other e-book headlines include the Apple price fixing lawsuit, and new subscription services launched by Scribd and Oyster.

1. Spying Scandals

If information is power, then privacy—a fundamental tenet of librarianship, according to many of us—is freedom. Several disturbing surveillance practices were revealed this year, making it important that librarians continue their efforts to safeguard people’s privacy.

What was your favorite library story this year?

It’s that time again… let’s look back at this year’s top library headlines.

10. Bird Flu Study is Published

After researchers found a way to spread H5N1 to humans, an interesting test ensued of the bounds of free speech versus public health. Citing concerns over bioterrorism, a government panel wanted to ban publication of the scientific findings. The paper was printed, in full, in the journal Science.

9. Remember Those Boycotts?

Multiple generations of librarians have lamented over costly journal prices. Aside from the continued drive for
public access to funded research, libraries and now finally scholars are boycotting Elsevier and the American Chemical Society. Here’s hoping the Open Access movement against profiteering publishers keeps growing.

Quote of the Year

"The economics of publishing print no longer worked and that’s why we’re going to go all digital" – Newsweek editor Tina Brown. How does your employer intend to survive?

8. Begun, the E-Book Wars Have

As e-books continue to gain mainstream dominance, thorny issues over lending, pricing, and the future of publishing remain crucial to follow.

7. Library Evolution Sparks Protests

Some library administrators now realize that running a change averse institution no longer has the survival value that it once did. The very notion of change, however, is still antagonistic to some. Two notable examples of adapting libraries this year are Harvard University and the New York Public Library.

6. National Library Efforts

Though still vaporware, the concept of a Digital Public Library of America, now with some major backers, holds promise. An initial launch is planned for 2013.

Honorable Mention

More libraries are going to the dogs. Has yours?

5. Georgia State E-Reserve Case

Libraries would not exist if copyright was an absolute. In a complicated case (as with Google Books and HathiTrust, aren’t they always) of publishers suing over the use of electronic reserve readings, the verdict came out in the library’s favor.

4. Kiosk Libraries Take Root

Kudos to the innovative Little Free Library project. Is there one in your community?

3. 3-D Printing

Those devices that create custom three-dimensional products on demand also generated a lot of buzz this year. There are promising business applications but also legal battles looming for such products.

Dis-honorable Mention

Regarding this year’s bestseller Fifty Shades of Grey, Salman Rushie says it best.

2. Innocence of Muslims

As with the burning of the Quran by Terry Jones and later by soldiers in Afghanistan, people are dead because of this movie. Google has blocked access to the film in certain countries. Should there ever be limits to the freedom of speech?

1. Have you heard of… the Internet?

This year saw the continued growth of the Web and its interaction with human intelligence, not to mention our dependence on it, to the point of our devices now serving as an external drive to the brain. Prince and Clifford Stoll were wrong: the Internet is not a fad. What else will be taken for granted in a few more years? Cloud computing? Web-scale discovery? And where do libraries fit in this picture?

What’s your favorite story of 2012?