Raymond Pun, academic and research librarian at Alder Graduate School of Education in Redwood City, California, has been elected 2024–2025 president-elect of the American Library Association (ALA).
Pun received 5,611 votes, while his opponent Sam Helmick, community and access services coordinator at Iowa City Public Library, received 2,778 votes.
Upon learning the outcome of the election, Pun said, “Thank you to each and every member who voted and became part of the ALA community to make our profession and Association stronger together. I am truly honored for this opportunity to lead our Association with you all. My deepest thanks to Sam Helmick for standing in the election with me during this critical time.”
Pun is immediate past president of the Chinese American Librarians Association and a past president of the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association. Previously, he served on the ALA Council, ALA Policy Corps, and the advisory committees for two ALA past presidents.
Pun is a member of the American Association of School Librarians, the Association for Library Service to Children, and the Association of College and Research Libraries. He is also a member of the California Library Association Advocacy and Legislation Committee, the Library Freedom Project, and other ALA affiliates, including the American Indian Library Association, the Black Caucus of ALA, the Association of Jewish Libraries, the Association for Rural and Small Libraries, and Reforma: The National Association to Promote Library and Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish-Speaking.
Pun is also a member of the International Relations Round Table and the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table. Additionally, he is a member of the Committee of 100’s Next Generation Leaders program and a speaker with the Weave Speakers Bureau.
Pun holds an EdD in educational leadership from California State University, Fresno; an MLS from Queens (N.Y.) College; and a master’s degree in East Asian studies and a bachelor’s degree in history from St. John’s University in Queens, New York.
