Hall comes to the Association from the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation and has worked at Seattle Public Library, the New Haven (Conn.) Free Public Library, Hartford (Conn.) Public Library, and Queens (N.Y.) Public Library. She also previously worked at ALA in the early 2000s as director of the Office for Diversity. She received her MLIS from … Continue reading Meet ALA’s Next Executive Director
“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
Macmillan Ebook Policy Draws Fire Macmillan Publishers announced a policy preventing libraries from purchasing more than one copy of a new ebook title for the first eight weeks after a book’s release. In protest, American Library Association (ALA) launched the #eBooksForAll petition, which by November 27 had garnered more than 216,000 signatures. Said ALA President … Continue reading 2019 Year in Review
But as we hear often, many members find the path to engagement too confusing, too insular, and too expensive. How do we address these concerns while also modernizing the way our Association functions? This is where we start. For the past 18 months, as a member of the Steering Committee on Organizational Effectiveness (SCOE), I’ve … Continue reading Forward Together
Like other nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, ALA exists because we seek to accomplish a mission, initially defined in ALA’s Constitution, “to promote library service and librarianship.” That critical social purpose was later more expansively stated in ALA Policy Manual, section A.1.2: “The mission of the American Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and … Continue reading Reflecting on Our Mission
I start my tenure by reporting mixed results for our finances, but I am optimistic about the work being done to advance libraries. In 2018, the ALA Executive Board approved a plan to strategically invest in three critical areas: information technology, advocacy, and development. Over a three-year period already underway, $8.8 million has been dedicated … Continue reading Achieving Our Vision
As in our personal lives, a new year is a time for reflection. We look back at the surprises, successes, and disappointments. We look at how we performed inside the Association—and, even more important, at our impact on libraries, on the people who make both the Association and libraries work, and on all the communities … Continue reading Future Destinations
In the most basic terms, an association is simply a voluntary organization of persons with common interests and ends, joining formally to achieve things they could not achieve—or could not achieve as well—alone. It’s an observation made in the early 1800s in Democracy in America by French historian Alexis de Tocqueville as he witnessed Americans … Continue reading At the Core of Our Work
While these successes are worth celebrating, there are still many challenges ahead as we focus on achieving our mission in a forward-looking, financially sustainable manner. The General Fund posted an operating deficit, albeit a much smaller one than in the past two years. Midwinter Meeting results missed expectations as our very talented and committed Conference … Continue reading A Year of Progress
Over the coming months, our Association will be engaged in difficult but essential work. The task will require that we work together in good faith, trusting one another’s commitment to the important job of library workers and the power of libraries to transform individuals and communities of all types. The American Library Association (ALA) was … Continue reading Challenge, Change, Opportunity
Perhaps the most pressing arena has been federal funding for libraries and a wide range of legislative and legal battles in areas like intellectual freedom, privacy, net neutrality, copyright, and government information. We implemented the ALA Policy Corps: individuals who will develop deep and sustained knowledge of key policy sectors and will receive training in … Continue reading Value and Impact
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
