Dan Montgomery writes: “When the interview committee asked why I was interested in the executive director position, I replied, doing my best impression of famed mountaineer George Mallory: ‘Because it’s the ALA!’ I was responding, of course, to my belief in libraries and in the right to read, both of which have been under serious attack. And library workers and advocates who defend reading, books, and unfettered access to knowledge are critical to protecting American democracy. So, to be part of the organization most squarely in the forefront of that cause seemed to me an unmissable opportunity, and a great honor.”