Round-Up: Tehran International Book Fair, New NEA Funding, and LSU

From the thirtieth Tehran International Book Fair to the NEA budget, here’s the latest literary news:

• A new spending bill rejects the cuts to the National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities budgets proposed by the White House. The bill would last through September 2017 and increase both the NEA and NEH budgets by one million dollars. The Institute for Museums and Library Services is also slated to receive an additional one million in funding, despite the President’s previous proposal to eliminate IMLS funding entirely.
• The thirtieth Tehran International Book Fair began on May 3. This year’s fair is expected to draw over sixteen-hundred publishers. Italy is the featured guest, and a group of thirty-two Italian cultural figures will be in attendance.The TIBF also grants scholarships to writers, translators, and publishers who work to extend the international reach of Persian literature.  Amir-Masud Shahramnia, the director of the Iran Cultural Fairs Institute, said that this year’s recipients “. . . are coming from Egypt, Armenia, Japan, Italy, Afghanistan, and several others.” The fair is set to run until Saturday, May 13.
• Elsevier, a scientific journal publisher, is blocking Louisiana State University veterinary school students from accessing material provided through the school’s main library. LSU officials claim that this blockage breaches their contract with Elsevier, while the company asserts that vet school access was not covered by their original terms. Krista Cox, speaking on behalf of the Association of Research Libraries, said: “All LSU is trying to do in the present case is ensure that it is not unnecessarily duplicating subscriptions for its campus and using state resources in a responsible manner. . . . In a time where states are facing enormous budget deficits . . . LSU is attempting to exercise sound judgment and stewardship of limited resources.”