I’m an optimist by nature, a true believer that anything is possible and can be accomplished with ingenuity, creative problem solving, collaboration, and hard work. It was with that mindset that I accepted the ALA interim executive director position in November 2023. Serving as your interim executive director has been thrilling, if not exhausting!
ALA, as an organization, has survived and thrived for nearly 150 years—through wars, economic downturns, changing political environments, and pandemics. With each of these challenges, we rose to the occasion with strong leadership, consistent messaging, and a membership base that devoted its efforts to sharing stories about the important work of all libraries and how they support the communities they serve.
In 2026, ALA will celebrate its 150th anniversary—150 years of service to library workers, libraries, and the people who use them. Obviously much has changed since ALA’s incorporation in 1876, but what has remained constant is our mission and commitment to our values.
As one of the Association’s older members, I look back at the ALA I joined at the beginning of my career—an association that was responding to the social movements of the Sixties and Seventies; learning to let women lead; grappling with new (and now primitive) technologies; democratizing catalog subject headings; and expanding access to libraries of all types through outreach programs, community engagement, and inclusivity. Change was and continues to be critical to the delivery of library service.
The same applies to our Association. We are in the midst of a generational shift among our members and staff. Members come to us with different expectations about what they value about ALA and changing ideas about how ALA should be organized for optimal member engagement, successful advocacy, and support for libraries and the profession.
To address those issues and ensure our financial stability, ALA is embarking concurrently on three important initiatives—an organizational assessment, strategic planning, and fundraising:
- An organizational assessment will ensure we are set up for success. Many of you will be involved in that process. This will help us best leverage our most valuable resource: You!
- Our strategic planning initiative will enable us to identify both short- and long-term goals for the Association, aligned with member and organizational needs.
- The newly launched “For Our Libraries,” a 150th anniversary fundraising campaign and public supporter program, will help secure funding to grow our endowment and increase operating revenues.
In addition, if you haven’t already heard, the Association is the recipient of a $25 million bequest from James W. Lewis that will support needs-based scholarships for those who want to enroll in an MLS program. Lewis’s extraordinary gift signals that those who love libraries and librarians are committed to ALA and our mission.
Throughout the world, the COVID-19 pandemic changed how we work and how we organize for success. ALA is no exception. As we approach the sesquicentennial, we must do all we can to ensure that our Association remains adaptable, flexible, and open to change, and that it offers new opportunities for member engagement. I hope all of you will join me on this journey.
