A panel of ALA and library leaders speculated on how the association might evolve to better serve libraries during “ALA at 150: Envisioning the Next 50 Years—How Will ALA Empower Libraries and Library Workers in 2076,” a June 28 session at ALA’s 2025 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Philadelphia. Moderator Joe Thompson, director of public … Continue reading Visions of 2076
ALA has selected Daniel J. Montgomery to be its next executive director. He will replace Interim Executive Director Leslie Burger. Montgomery has worked on behalf of public education and the rights of workers for more than two decades. He was elected to a three-year term as president of the 103,000-member Illinois Federation of Teachers (IFT) … Continue reading ALA Appoints Daniel J. Montgomery as Executive Director
1989 ALA creates the Task Force on the Environment, timed with Earth Day’s 20th anniversary in 1990. The task force is now part of the Sustainability Round Table (SustainRT). 1990 ALA introduces Environmental Issues to its Policy Manual, urging librarians and library governing boards to “collect and provide information [to patrons] on the condition of our … Continue reading Commitments to Conservation
OIF, which began collecting data about censorship attempts in US libraries in 1990—and started observing Banned Books Week in 1982—was formed in 1967 to provide tangible support to library workers as they sought to uphold the intellectual freedom tenets of the Library Bill of Rights and ALA’s Freedom to Read Statement. As high-profile battles with … Continue reading Censorship throughout the Centuries
CALA President Vincci Kwong attributes the group’s longevity to the relationships members form with one another. “Sometimes you feel isolated at your library because you don’t have a lot of people who are Asian American,” she says. “[In CALA,] people serve on committees, and we form a bond and stay together and still network after … Continue reading CALA Turns 50
Born in Mississippi in 1906, Robinson began her career as a librarian serving Black schools in South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana before settling in Alabama, where she initially worked for Alabama State College as an assistant professor of library education. In 1947, she helped organize a librarian section of the Alabama State Teachers Association, a … Continue reading Separate—and Unequal
“E. J. Josey’s 1964 Charge: ‘Keep on Pushing’” charted the life of E. J. Josey (1924–2009), librarian, educator, author, activist, founding member of BCALA, and 1984–1985 American Library Association (ALA) president. The session opened with images of Black life from the late 1800s to the present and the American civil rights movement, backed by the … Continue reading “Keep on Pushing”
In the decades that followed, the group’s name changed periodically to reflect the evolving times, finally becoming known in 2019 as the Rainbow Round Table. But its mission—to serve the information needs of LGBTQIA+ library professionals as well as the information and access needs of the LGBTQIA+ community at large—has never faltered. LGBTQIA+ youth have … Continue reading The Rainbow’s Arc
Founded in 1920, the American Library in Paris is the largest English-language lending library in continental Europe. Burton Stevenson, one of the library’s founders and among its first directors, was well known for assisting the American Library Association (ALA) as it established army libraries abroad during the First World War. He wanted to continue the … Continue reading We’ll Always Have the American Library in Paris
“The American Library Association is pleased to announce the appointment of Tracie D. Hall as its executive director, effective February 24, 2020. Following a nationwide search, Hall was selected to succeed Mary W. Ghikas, who has worked for ALA since 1995 and served as executive director since January 2018. Hall is the first female African-American … Continue reading ALA Appoints Tracie D. Hall as Executive Director
“We are thrilled that after many years of study, research, and discussion, the transfer of valuable real estate to ALA’s endowment fund is at last complete,” Brown said. “Of course, it is bittersweet to be leaving our home of so many decades. But ALA is focused on the future and is optimistic about all that … Continue reading ALA Announces Sale of Headquarters Buildings
“Bev’s laugh was infectious and full of life,” said American Libraries Editor and Publisher Sanhita SinhaRoy. “It could fill a room and make everyone smile. She will be missed.” Goldberg began as editor of the classified advertising section in American Libraries, then expanded her duties to include news and features as an associate editor in … Continue reading Longtime Editor Goldberg Remembered
