How does one find their place as a leader in the American Library Association (ALA)?
At “Leading ALA Into the Next 150 Years,” a June 28 panel held at ALA’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago, longtime Association members spoke about their pathways to governance, the importance of mentorship, and what changes they see for the profession decades down the road.
Panel moderator Amy Lappin, deputy director of Lebanon (N.H.) Public Libraries and a former ALA Executive Board member, started the session by asking panelists what leadership looks like to them.
“A lot of people associate leadership with starting something new, like two guys in the garage inventing Apple computers,” said Karen Schneider, retired librarian, former ALA Executive Board member, and chair of ALA’s Committee on Organization. “Leadership can look like renovation, reuse, reimagining—it can look like showing up.”
Schneider stressed that there are a variety of commitments to choose from, including ALA divisions, round tables, subcommittees, interest groups, task forces, advisory boards, and assembly groups.
“You don’t have to invent something,” Schneider said, “and based on the vote in Council yesterday, you won’t have an opportunity to.” But members can take this opportunity to engage more deeply with existing groups.
Aaron Dobbs, scholarly communication librarian at Shippensburg (Pa.) University and chair of ALA’s Policy Monitoring Committee, said he has “tried all the programs, round tables, divisions, and Council,” but leadership doesn’t necessarily mean taking a formal position within ALA’s governance structure.
“Leadership is engaging with something you’re passionate about,” Dobbs said, which could be anything from making a presentation to furthering a cause. “It may not be an institutional position, but passion leads.”
Panelists agreed that mentorship was a pivotal factor in elevating their involvement with the Association.
When Eboni Henry, media specialist at D.C. Public Schools, former ALA Executive Board member, and chair of ALA’s Committee on Library Advocacy, was still in library school, she had the opportunity to meet ALA President Roberta Stevens and watch trailblazing librarian E. J. Josey speak.
“I actually got to see what ALA could do, the possibilities,” Henry said. “That was my first look into advocacy.”
Henry encouraged attendees to simply ask ALA leaders for their mentorship and guidance. “Do not be afraid to enter rooms and speak to people,” she said. “We’re not going to bite.”
What do the panelists see sustaining the future of the Association and the library profession?
Ed Garcia, director of Cranston (R.I.) Public Library and former ALA Executive Board member, praised the Chapter Leaders Forum and said he would like to also see “ALA create a leadership platform for citizen advocates.”
Henry said that libraries will have to become “even more collaborative, innovative, and community focused,” while Dobbs said that ALA should “focus on what we do that no one else does.” For Schneider, making committee meetings more transparent and accessible would go a long way in furthering participation.
And if you run for an ALA office and don’t win?
“Don’t just stop because you ran into a fail,” Dobbs said.
Added Garcia: “Not getting [elected ALA] president stung, but it didn’t deter me from getting involved, because my purpose for being there was being a servant-leader.”
