ALA president responds to concerns from members about press release regarding library priorities and the new administration

For Immediate Release
Sat, 11/19/2016

Contact:

Communications and Marketing Office

ALA Media Relations

CMO

cmo@ala.org

Dear ALA Members,

Please accept this apology regarding the press release Libraries Bolster Opportunity: New briefs show how libraries support policy priorities of new administration, which was posted Friday. The release was still in draft form; and in the haste to communicate with our members, it went out by mistake without my full review and approval. When I began to receive emails from our members, I realized what had happened and immediately asked for the release to be pulled from our website and issued an apology. 

While I am very proud of our three briefs showcasing what libraries can do for our country (45-115 announced OCT. 4, 2016) , the introductory and positioning content for this announcement for updated 45-115 resources was - in fact - not what I would have I approved at this time. I apologize for this mistake and recognize the concern  and questioning this caused about ALA’s support of and commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. As I said on Tuesday, ALA is committed to the support of efforts to abolish intolerance and cultural invisibility, we stand up for all the members of the communities we serve, and we promote understanding and inclusion through our work.

We will be issuing updates on the 45-115 initiative and briefs.

Again, I apologize for this error.

Regards,
Julie Todaro
President
American Library Association (2016 - 2017)