Mary Ghikas, ALA executive director

Listening to Your Community

November 1, 2019

At the event, R. David Lankes, now director of University of South Carolina’s iSchool, facilitated discussions on the topic. Participants from all types of libraries were asked to take an imaginary walk around their community: observing, listening, seeking to understand the aspirations of the community for itself. During the discussion that followed, participants talked about how … Continue reading Listening to Your Community


town hall meeting

American Libraries to Stream Midwinter Town Hall Meeting

January 17, 2017

In recent months, ALA members have expressed concerns about the effects of the recent election on the positions and advocacy efforts of the Association, and this event was created to provide a forum to continue that conversation. Although the town hall follows the first meeting of ALA’s governing council, all interested conference attendees are welcome to attend and share their feedback, concerns, … Continue reading American Libraries to Stream Midwinter Town Hall Meeting


Richard Frieder (standing), community engagement director at Hartford Public Library, facilitates a community dialogue among neighborhood residents and Hartford police officers on the topic of community violence and public safety. The dialogue took place in June 2015 at Hartford Public Library's Barbour Street branch. (Photo: Judy Wyman Kelly)

Hartford Public Library Builds, Strengthens Community–Police Relationships

August 3, 2015

HPL is one of 10 public libraries in the US that have been participating in ALA’s Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC) initiative since April 2014. The initiative, in collaboration with the nonprofit Harwood Institute for Public Innovation, is an 18-month community engagement training program where libraries learn how to address challenges facing their community. (Read more … Continue reading Hartford Public Library Builds, Strengthens Community–Police Relationships


Kenneth Wayne Thompson, director of Davenport (Iowa) Public Library, participates in small-group work at an ALA-Harwood Institute training in Atlanta in October.

Libraries Transforming Communities

January 22, 2015

Of course it wasn’t Freudenberger and the community alone who made these changes happen; it was thanks in part to an initiative called Libraries Transforming Communities (LTC), which launched a program in April 2014 involving 10 library districts. The initiative is the result of a partnership between the American Library Association and the Bethesda, Maryland–based … Continue reading Libraries Transforming Communities