Students compete in the Virtual Library InfoLit Race Challenge at Nazarbayev University Library in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan

2021 International Innovators

July 8, 2021

The citations began as an initiative of former ALA President Loriene Roy (2007–2008). Presented by the International Relations Round Table, the awards recognize exemplary services and projects that draw attention to libraries that are creating positive change, demonstrating sustainability, and providing a model for others. The winners are Nazarbayev University Library in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan; Red … Continue reading 2021 International Innovators


The Taiwan Reading Festival.

International Innovators

July 1, 2020

The Presidential Citations began as an initiative of former ALA President Loriene Roy (2007–2008). Presented by the International Relations Round Table, the awards recognize exemplary services and projects that draw attention to the potential for library services to create positive change, demonstrate sustainability, and provide a model for others. The winners are: Fran Galovic´ Public … Continue reading International Innovators


Photo: Libraries for Syrian Refugees

Bringing Books to the Desert

July 1, 2020

Among the camp’s adult population, literacy is low: 79% of its residents are from the agricultural region of Dara’a in southern Syria, where people are typically less educated than in a metropolis like Damascus. Before the Syrian civil war, Syrian schools and universities were considered among the best in the Arab world. Resourcefulness and creativity … Continue reading Bringing Books to the Desert


Idress Siyawash’s mobile library

Bikes and Books in Afghanistan

February 25, 2020

Siyawash’s voice cracks as he recounts this scene from a small village in Afghanistan. Siyawash, a student at Jahan University in Kabul, is founder and chief of a small organization called Read Books (in Pashto: Ketab Lwast), a mobile effort to improve youth literacy rates in Afghanistan by providing books and reading instruction to children … Continue reading Bikes and Books in Afghanistan


Global Themes and Reflections in LIS Education

October 1, 2019

Day 1: Perspectives on diversity and inclusion, data ethics, and fake news In “The Hoax and the President: Historical Perspectives on Politics, Truth, and Academia” on September 24, Sharon McQueen, an independent scholar, explored the rise and impact of fake news in journalism and the information ecology. She said fake news can be traced back … Continue reading Global Themes and Reflections in LIS Education


Volunteers in Colombia unload a Libraries Without Borders mobile Ideas Box. Photo: Libraries Without Borders

International Innovators

July 17, 2019

The Presidential Citations began as an initiative of former ALA President Loriene Roy (2007–2008). Presented by the International Relations Round Table (IRRT), the awards recognize exemplary services and projects that draw attention to the potential for library services to create positive change, demonstrate sustainability, and provide a model for others. The four winning libraries for … Continue reading International Innovators


Loida Garcia-Febo

Moving the Needle

June 3, 2019

During this time, I treasured the opportunity of being the first Puerto Rican American and second-youngest ALA president in the organization’s 143-year history. I have loved representing ALA nationally and internationally and collaborating with a talented Executive Board. Over the past year, ALA has helped secure funding for libraries to keep them open, equipped, and … Continue reading Moving the Needle



The first African Leadership Academy graduating class, from left: Bakary Sanyang, director of bibliographic services, The Gambia National Library Service Authority; Beatrice Ampadu, senior librarian, Ghana Library Authority, Lartebiokorshie branch; Guy Ebenezer Amarteifio, regional librarian, Greater Accra, Ghana Library Authority; Victoria Isaacks, librarian, Namibia Library and Archives Service; Miriam Wangari Mureithi, principal librarian, Kenya National Library Services, Thika; Gertrude Kayaga Mulindwa, former director, National Library of Uganda; Nkem Osuigwe, human capacity development and training director, AfLIA; Barbra Apolot, librarian, National Library of Uganda; Jacinta Were, former deputy director, University of Nairobi Library, Kenya; Katrina Ndeshipanda Shikuni, senior librarian, Outapi Community Library, Namibia; Pranisha Parag, principal librarian, Msunduzi Municipal Library, South Africa; Adonia Katungisa, director, National Library of Uganda.

PLA Debuts African Leadership Academy

April 3, 2019

Since 2013, 140 US public librarians have participated in the PLA Leadership Academy, which was developed in collaboration with Adam Goodman, director of the Center for Leadership at Northwestern University. With funding and support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Global Libraries program, PLA partnered with the African Library and Information Associations and Institutions … Continue reading PLA Debuts African Leadership Academy


Students at a teacher’s college in Parwan Province, Afghanistan, learn about the Darakht-e Danesh Library.

2018 Presidential Citations

July 18, 2018

Canadian Women for Women in Afghanistan, Canada La Biblioteca Móvil, Guatemala Suzhou Library, China Inner Mongolia Library, China The recipients were selected by a team of IRRT members in consultation with then–ALA President Jim Neal, who recognized them at the 2018 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans during the IRRT International Librarians Reception … Continue reading 2018 Presidential Citations


John Hickok (center) interacts with students at a school in Kandal Province, Cambodia.

Building Bridges to the East

July 18, 2018

Hickok is international outreach librarian at California State University, Fullerton (CSUF). His initial role at the library was providing outreach and instruction to CSUF’s international student population. That led to an “aha” moment. “I realized for me to truly understand international students’ library experiences, I needed to see the libraries in their countries,” he says. … Continue reading Building Bridges to the East