ALA Presidential Candidates Archives | Page 2 of 3

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada

By Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozada | March 1, 2021

As your president, I will lead with the Association’s core values, centering equity, strengthening advocacy, and promoting organizational excellence through connection and collaboration. I have and will continue to seek out, listen to, and act on the varied perspectives and experiences of our members to move ALA forward. As a 14-year member, past ALA Executive … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada →

ALA presidential candidates for the 2022–2023 term, from left: Stacey A. Aldrich, Ed Garcia, and Lessa Kanani'opua Pelayo-Lozada

ALA Presidential Candidates Announced

October 26, 2020

“Stacey A. Aldrich, state librarian, Hawaii State Public Library System, Honolulu; Ed Garcia, director, Cranston (R.I.) Public Library; and Lessa Kanani’opua Pelayo-Lozada, adult services assistant manager, Palos Verdes Library District in Rolling Hills Estates, California, are candidates for the 2022–2023 presidency of the American Library Association (ALA). Aldrich currently serves on the ALA Center for the … Continue reading ALA Presidential Candidates Announced →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Steven Yates

By Steven Yates | March 2, 2020

This year has already been historic for ALA. We have a new executive director and soon a new home in Chicago. These changes, along with the organizational review process, call for all of us to lend a hand. As a dedicated volunteer with leadership experience, I would like to work alongside you as your 2021–2022 … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Steven Yates →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Patricia “Patty” Wong

By Patty Wong | March 2, 2020

America’s libraries are the cornerstones of social democracy. We face many challenges as a nation: changing demographics and how to provide equitable access and service to all differing views about public support for public services privatization challenges to the freedom to read, write, and speak barriers to access shifting landscapes for publishing and digital access … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Patricia “Patty” Wong →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Julius C. Jefferson Jr.

By Julius C. Jefferson Jr. | March 1, 2019

It is an exciting time to be a member of the American Library Association (ALA). ALA can and will play an important role at this critical juncture in the history of our profession and our country, and it must stand united to speak with one voice: to advocate for the education of an informed citizenry; … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Julius C. Jefferson Jr. →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Lance Werner

By Lance Werner | March 1, 2019

The American Library Association (ALA) and libraries are in a unique position to help, heal, and lead. We must bring more civility and critical thought into the world through kindness, empathy, and love. Libraries are on the front line, doing an outstanding job of serving the underserved. But there is also an opportunity to bring … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Lance Werner →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Peter Hepburn

By Peter Hepburn | March 1, 2018

To thrive, libraries and library workers need a strong and healthy professional association that advocates for us and for those who come to our facilities or who use our online resources, enabling them to benefit from the wide range of services we offer. Within our library community, we must have an association that is itself … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Peter Hepburn →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Wanda Brown

By Wanda Kay Brown | March 1, 2018

Many of our funders and constituents do not understand the role of the modern library and the tremendous impact we have on the communities we serve. As members of a profession that has so much influence and shares in the dissemination of information, librarians and library workers need to demonstrate the value and relevance of … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Wanda Brown →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Scott Walter

By Scott Walter | March 1, 2017

Given this reality, every one of us faces choices about the work we want to do, the institutions we hope to save, and the world we wish to build for our friends, family, neighbors, and children. Libraries, archives, museums, and schools have a special role to play in the coming years in defense of informed … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Scott Walter →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Terri Grief

By Terri Grief | March 1, 2017

Strengthening relationships. Together we can more productively advocate for libraries across the board. The relationships we can strengthen within ALA will create opportunities for advocacy outside the Association. ALA has been described as having silos that prevent divisions and units from working together. My plan is to encourage joint projects and support them financially. The … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Terri Grief →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Loida Garcia-Febo

By Loida Garcia-Febo | March 1, 2017

I serve as an advocate for libraries every day. Why? Because libraries change lives in every community in our nation. Our strong value system propels us to create new ways to do such things as help children read, assist job seekers, support first-generation college students, and connect battered women and children with shelters. As confirmed … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Loida Garcia-Febo →

Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Jim Neal

By James Neal | March 1, 2016

As your president, I will build on the Libraries Transform focus of current ALA President Sari Feldman, and the Expert in the Library theme of President-Elect Julie Todaro. My vision projects that we are: virtual, engaged with our users and in our communities in ever more rigorous and effective ways; we are virtuoso, smart but … Continue reading Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Jim Neal →

Latest Library Links

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Tova Gaster writes: “Library Futures’s new research report, ‘Keeping an Open Mind: Awareness, Use, and Perspectives of OER in Public Libraries,’ takes a first look at how public librarians are using and perceiving open educational resources (OER). Library Futures surveyed public librarians about their use and awareness of OER via the Public Library Association mailing list from January–March 2024 and received 107 usable responses. Our flagship survey revealed that public librarians are very interested in OER, but many lack the resources, education, or support to bring interest into action.”

Library Futures, Nov. 22
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Jack Wallen writes: “Bluesky is a breath of fresh air. You’re not force-fed ads, nor are there algorithmic suggestions to clutter up your feed. Even better, there’s so much positivity. That alone is worth the time to migrate. But how do you get started? It took you years to collect those followers on Twitter. Will it take years to do the same on Bluesky? No. Bluesky’s starter packs are customized collections of accounts pre-loaded with users interested in different subjects.” Librarian Paul Jewell has created an information literacy starter pack.

ZDNet, Nov. 26; Information Literacy Weblog, Dec. 2
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A newly published research study from the American Association of School Librarians’ peer-reviewed online journal, School Library Research, investigates self-censorship of controversial topics in collection development. In “To Add or Not to Add: An Examination of Self‐Censoring Behaviors among School Librarians,” information science professors Jennifer Moore and Alissa Tudor use survey data to examine which controversial or frequently challenged topics school librarians chose not to collect. The research found that there were high amounts of self-censorship around books that dealt with sexual content, abortion, and self-harm.

American Association of School Librarians, Dec. 3; School Library Research, Volume 27
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Frank Strong writes: “Day one of pre-filing of bills for the 2025 Texas legislative session treated us with several attempts to further restrict reading rights for Texans. The headliner of those bills is House Bill 183, which would enable the State Board of Education to review and remove books from all public schools in the state, essentially creating a statewide banned books list. But it won’t be the only one. Below are six more antibook bills you should watch out for—and publicize, and speak out against, and fight—in the new year.”

Anger & Clarity, Nov. 29
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“In today’s society, libraries stand out as among the last truly public institutions. Providing access to resources without financial, social, or physical barriers, public libraries make a unique contribution to promoting individual and collective flourishing throughout the communities they serve. The New York Public Library’s Strategy and Public Impact team and the Humanities and Human Flourishing Project at the University of Pennsylvania’s Positive Psychology Center in Philadelphia have released a new report as part of an ongoing collaboration to study and advocate for the role of public libraries in the communities they serve.”

New York Public Library, Nov.
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ALA’s Games & Gaming Round Table announced the winners of its 2024 Platinum Play Hall of Fame Awards on December 2, representing the best games for library collections or programming released in the last two to 10 years. The “Platys” Class of 2024 includes longstanding favorites such as Splendor and Azul, approachable program-friendly titles like Just One and Exploding Kittens, the tournament-friendly Super Smash Bros. Melee, geolocation game Pokémon Go, and ‘80s throwback RPG Kids on Bikes.

ALA Games and Gaming Round Table, Dec. 2
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Samantha Kretschmer writes: “A staff survey conducted by administration at my library two years ago pointed to a general feeling of discontent amongst staff. The administration formed a Staff Advisory committee, which I was tasked with chairing. The point of this committee was to promote understanding and cooperation between the various branches and departments of the library; to promote productive cooperation between staff, management, and administration; to provide a place for a constructive exchange of ideas; to serve as a channel for staff questions, comments, and concerns; and to help create a community amongst staff.”

ALSC Blog, Nov. 28

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