As I contemplate the future of libraries, I am reminded of adrienne maree brown’s book Emergent Strategy. In the chapter “Intentional Adaptation: How We Change,” she describes the need to be an active participant in change—to not resist but embrace it—and to be as intentional as possible during the process while being in community with … Continue reading Until We Meet Again
As we approach a new year, I challenge each of us to take the lessons we’ve learned and make these changes permanent. I challenge us to continue making programs and services more accessible for as many as possible, such as by offering livestream and hybrid options. When we center universal design, we are serving all … Continue reading Where Do We Go from Here?
Through your ALA membership, you are already part of ALA-APA. And as president of ALA, I’m also president of ALA-APA, so this work is very close to my heart. I’m proud that the leaders who came before me had the foresight to establish ALA-APA to offer resources for librarians, library staff, and library managers to … Continue reading Two Decades of ALA-APA
Taking on the struggle against racism, prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination is central to ALA’s mission of fostering cultural understanding and defending equity, diversity, and inclusion. In that spirit, my presidential plans focus on equity at the intersection of service. During my term, I will advocate for four initiatives, collectively called “Libraries Connect.” The first focus … Continue reading Libraries Connect Us
These events spurred singer-songwriter Marvin Gaye to record “What’s Going On” 50 years ago. As I assume leadership of ALA, we are confronting an unprecedented global pandemic, the likes of which has not been seen since 1918; an economic collapse, including the highest unemployment rates since the Great Depression; unjust police killings of unarmed Black … Continue reading Black Lives Matter
The American Library Association stands in solidarity with and support of library workers. As we said last month when we recommended and urged all libraries to close to the public, “The health of our library workers and the communities we serve is of utmost and equal importance.” Since that time, we have been buoyed by … Continue reading ALA National Library Workers Day Statement
The ALA Executive Board unequivocally stands in support of the safety and well-being of library workers and the communities we serve. To protect library workers and their communities from exposure to COVID-19 in these unprecedented times, we strongly recommend that academic, public, and school library leaders and their trustees and governing bodies evaluate closing libraries … Continue reading ALA Executive Board Recommends Closing Libraries to Public
April 9 is National Library Workers Day, a day to recognize the hard work, dedication, and expertise of library support staff and librarians. To celebrate library workers, the American Library Association–Allied Professional Association (ALA–APA) asked patrons to nominate stellar library workers from their libraries. Below are some of the nominations included in the Galaxy of Stars on … Continue reading National Library Workers Day 2019
Virginia Sanchez, librarian at Yosemite National Park in California, has spent four years working to modernize the park’s research library. Now she’s applying for unemployment. A Navy veteran who served in Afghanistan and still serves in the Navy Reserve, Sanchez says she has to start getting income soon to make a mortgage payment she says … Continue reading Librarian Shutdown Stories
Though his moniker is absent from modern headlines, there’s one harasser whose name is known to librarians everywhere: Melvil Dewey. In the #MeToo era, how should the library profession handle Dewey’s legacy, tainted as it is by sexism and racism? Dewey—who was, of course, a founder of the American Library Association (ALA) and the inventor … Continue reading Bringing Harassment Out of the History Books
In the November/December issue of American Libraries, ALA President Jim Neal issued a call to ALA members to consider the 21st-century effectiveness and agility of an organization with governance documents dating back more than 140 years. He called for a review of ALA’s organizational effectiveness with the aim of revitalizing the Association. At the 2018 … Continue reading Modernizing Our Association
And every year since 2004, the American Library Association (ALA) has celebrated librarians, support staff, and others for their valuable contributions on National Library Workers Day (NLWD), which this year falls on Tuesday, April 10. The American Library Association–Allied Professional Association (ALA–APA) asked patrons throughout the US to nominate stellar library workers for their hard … Continue reading National Library Workers Day 2018
