I am beginning to see the light at the end of a dark COVID-19 tunnel. Many of us have been vaccinated or will be soon—a critical step toward healing all the communities hit by the global pandemic. Another ray of light came on March 11, when the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 was signed … Continue reading Making a Difference
Usually the calls were about the kids who frequented the library—which ones had graduated, who was off to college or the military, and sometimes, sadly, who had been shot or killed, or gone to jail. One call still haunts me: A teenage boy I knew well was facing serious time in a juvenile detention center. … Continue reading A Hurting Thing
I am honored to be on the ballot for ALA president for the 2022–2023 term. When I began my career in college as assistant to the Slavic cataloger at University of Pittsburgh, little did I know that libraries would afford me experiences unlike any other field. I have worked in academic, special, public, and state … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Stacey A. Aldrich
Our Association is facing internal and external challenges that can only be overcome by strong leadership and collaborative effort. I bring proven leadership and experience in corporate, nonprofit, and library settings to help navigate these challenges. I was a 2010 Emerging Leader and have served three terms on Council. I was a member of key … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Ed Garcia
As your president, I will lead with the Association’s core values, centering equity, strengthening advocacy, and promoting organizational excellence through connection and collaboration. I have and will continue to seek out, listen to, and act on the varied perspectives and experiences of our members to move ALA forward. As a 14-year member, past ALA Executive … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada
Those words seem especially prescient now as we look across the country at the libraries that have struggled most during this period of widespread library defunding and service reductions. Though the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the issue, there has long been an unmistakable correlation between communities that navigate high rates of poverty and those that … Continue reading Revolutions Where We Stand
What do these events mean for libraries and the Association? Libraries and library workers had an important role leading up to the 2020 presidential election by encouraging and supporting voter registration, which led to more than 66% of eligible voters participating—making 2020 the most engaged election since 1900. No matter who you voted for, as … Continue reading A Place within ALA
Klara and the Sun is a powerful commentary on the ethics of technological advances and artificial intelligence. What inspired you to address those themes? It was an opportunity to have a narrator with an interesting perspective. The Artificial Friend is almost like a baby at the beginning: completely fresh, completely open, but taking things in … Continue reading Newsmaker: Kazuo Ishiguro
In 2020, the Executive Board, Budget Analysis and Review Committee, Finance and Audit Subcommittee, and member leaders extensively reviewed and discussed the Association’s fiscal management practices and the changes that have exacerbated past revenue gaps and declines. We are fortunate to have our new executive director, Tracie D. Hall, steer operational and staffing decisions as … Continue reading ALA’s Financial Future
The US has the highest incarceration rate in the world. About 698 per 100,000 of the national population are in some form of detention. According to a March 2020 report from the Prison Policy Initiative, the US criminal justice system detains almost 2.3 million people in various facilities in the US and its territories. Chief … Continue reading Defending the Fifth Freedom
Similarly, 2020 made an indelible impression on the history of our country, and it has left us collectively exhausted. Many will remember it as the year we were locked down, Zoomed out, and either lonely or wanting to be alone. We lost loved ones, icons, and champions. We were confronted with furloughs and loss of … Continue reading A New Year of Hope
“The history of segregated library service is almost forgotten, but we must be reminded that some of the first sit-ins and civil rights demonstrations took place in libraries, because so many libraries followed Jim Crow laws that offered separate and unequal library service to Blacks or excluded them altogether. “Today, in an era where we … Continue reading Black Caucus of the ALA Celebrates 50 Years
