American Library Association (ALA) President Sam Helmick called the first Council meeting of ALA’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition to order at 10:20 a.m. on June 27 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago.
Council adopted the hybrid meeting rules (CD#5.1). A proposed amendment to limit debate to 10 minutes per motion did not pass. The agenda (CD#8.5) and the minutes from ALA’s 2026 Virtual Winter Council sessions (CD#2.3) were approved.
ALA Executive Director Dan Montgomery reported on Executive Board actions since the January sessions (CD#15.1) and the implementation of Council Actions (#9.1).
Jim DelRosso, Resolutions Committee Chair, shared the committee’s report and an action item about encouraging libraries to support caregiver awareness, community dialogue, and dignity in aging (CD#10.1). The resolution overwhelmingly passed 109-2, with two voters abstaining.
Aaron Dobbs, chair of the Policy Monitoring Committee (PMC), presented committee updates and three resolutions (CD#17.1): to adopt PMC’s election and petition candidate policy updates to ALA’s bylaws; to designate ALA’s website as the official location for interpretation statements of the Library Bill of Rights and ALA Code of Ethics, rather than just the ALA Policy Manual; and to clarify language in the Petitions section of the ALA Policy Manual. Council approved the policy updates and voted unanimously in favor of making the interpretation statements accessible on the website, with an amendment to include those for ALA’s Core Values.
Committee on Organization Chair Karen Schneider put forth five action items (CD#27.1). The first—a three-year moratorium on establishing new divisions, round tables, and standing committees—was presented as a way to help the Association address fiscal struggles and membership decline, and give staff a chance to navigate its recent unionization. It was approved 100-11, with one voter abstaining. The moratorium will be effective until ALA’s 2029 Annual Conference.
The other resolutions, approved in a block vote, were changes to the composition and charge of the Nominating Committee, the Information Technology Advisory Committee, the Intellectual Freedom Committee, and the Committee on Appointments (which ALA membership must approve in its spring 2027 vote before it can go into effect).
In New Business, Councilor Emily Bergman resurfaced a revised resolution, which had been postponed to Annual from the winter sessions, to accept The Librarians’ and Library Workers’ Bill of Rights as an official statement of principle and practice (CD#50). Councilors voted in favor with 108 yeas and one abstaining.
In closing announcements, Montgomery reported that as of June 27, Annual registration had reached 9,476 paid registrants (of 14,468 total registrants, 2,500 of which are first-time attendees). Helmick adjourned the meeting at 11:27 a.m.
[Editor’s note: This post was updated on June 28, 2026, to correct Annual attendance numbers for June 27, as reported during Council II.]
