Officially Speaking | August 2025

In my short time serving as your ALSC president, I have observed many outstanding attributes of this outstanding organization. I have participated in many meetings, both face-to-face and virtual, brainstorm sessions, and orientations, and I have engaged with many ALSC members through correspondence. I have concluded that the key phrase to describe what I have experienced is “professionalism of the highest caliber.” Even in these uncertain times, this is truly evidence of #ALSCJOY, despite (or perhaps as a healthy act of resistance against) the many current pressures felt by those in the library profession.

I have observed these positive attributes in our planning meetings with ALSC staff, in work with committees, task forces, and working groups, and in our board meetings during the ALA Annual Conference in Philadelphia, especially in this time of reunification. The goal continues to be the same: to achieve the highest quality work for our members.

I invite you to share this joy by becoming a member of ALSC or by renewing your membership in this incredible association. Please visit https://www.ala.org/membership to join or sign into your account to update your membership.

As a reminder, ALSC is the world’s largest organization dedicated to the support and enhancement of library service for children and youth. The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is driven by approximately 4,000 members dedicated to the support and enrichment of library service to children. Our members include youth librarians, literature experts, publishers, and educational faculty. ALSC supports its members in engaging communities to build healthy, successful futures for all children. ALSC is a division of the American Library Association. (To learn more about ALSC, visit ALSC’s website at www.ala.org/alsc.)

Until next time, in the words of Peanuts creator, Charles Schulz, “Keep looking up! That’s the secret of life.” —Claudette S. McLinn, Ed.D., ALSC President, 2025-2026

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ALA’s Annual Conference in Philadelphia this year had a strong turnout of more than 14,000 attendees, and I enjoyed connecting with so many ALSC members there.  It is always an honor to represent ALSC as your Division Councilor.  Please find the recap of Council actions that took place as follows.

Reports of ALA-APA/Council Committees:

ALA Executive Board Action Request, ALA-APA CD#8
Council voted that the ALA-APA Bylaws be amended to affect the dissolution of the ALA-APA Council as described in the proposed amendments and pursuant to ALA-APA Bylaws Article X.

Council Committees:

Committee on Organization, ALA CD#27.1 
•    Council voted to discontinue the Committee Associate program.
•    Council voted to discontinue the Planning & Budget Assembly (PBA) (Appendix #2). 
•    Council voted to reunify the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Per the bylaws, this action requires a separate vote at two Council meetings and Council voted to reunify the two divisions both times.

ALA Conference Committee, ALA CD#44.1
Council granted an extension from the original deadline of 2025 to 2027 for CD#53. This extension will provide the time needed to evaluate the feasibility and financial impact of absorbing the cost of carbon offsets into the cost of doing business for ALA Annual Conference or provide the committee with time to investigate alternative options.

Policy Manual Revision Working Group, ALA CD#40.1
•    Council adopted the General Revision of the Policy Manual Section A, dated June 17, 2025
•    Council adopted the “Action Items from the ALA Policy Manual (APM) Revision Working Group (RWG) Regarding Specific Sections of the APM,” dated June 17, 2025.

2025-2026 Council Committee on Committees Election, ALA CD#12 
Ana Elisa de Campos Salles, Erika Long, Bradley Kuykendall, and Joseph Thompson were elected to serve a one-year term (2025-2026) to the Committee on Committees (COC)

Information Technology Advisory Committee, ALA CD#30.1
Council voted to create a working group charged with developing a unified, critically informed ALA position on AI in libraries for Council consideration no later than the 2026 Annual Conference.

Special Committees and Taskforces:

Core Values Interpretation Working Group, ALA CD#35.1
Council voted to approve the recommended interpretations provided by Core Values Interpretations Working Groups for Access, Intellectual Freedom & Privacy, and Sustainability and to approve extensions for the Core Values Interpretations Working Group for Equity & Public Good until the January 2026 Council meeting.

Intellectual Freedom Committee, ALA CD#19.2
•    Council reviewed and discussed the draft interpretations from the Intellectual Freedom Committee in a Virtual Special Council Meeting in May to help expedite the discussion at ALA Council at Annual.
•    Council voted to approve the draft interpretation “Economic Barriers to Library Access: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights.”
•    Council voted to approve the draft interpretation “Access to Resources and Services in the School Library: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights.” 
•    Council voted to approve the following draft Interpretations as a block: 
o    Censorship by Altering Library Resources: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
o    Intellectual Freedom Principles for Academic Libraries: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights Internet Filtering: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
o    Library Access and Representation for All Sexes, Gender Identities and Expressions, and Sexual Orientations: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
o    Library-Initiated Programs as a Resource: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
o    Meeting Rooms: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights 
o    Minors and Online Activity: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
o    Politics in American Libraries: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
o    Privacy: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
o    Religion in American Libraries: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights
o    Services to People with Disabilities: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights 
•    Council voted to approve the draft interpretation “User-Generated Content in Library Discovery Layers: An Interpretation of the Library Bill of Rights” with the following amendment in the second paragraph: Approve appendix #26 as amended in second paragraph: “…Such [search] features should not be turned on by default. Users should have the option [to enable such features].”

ALA Societal Statements Working Group, ALA CD#51
Council voted to extend the timeline for the Working Group for American Library Association (ALA) Societal Statement Guidelines, bringing a framework for review and voting to the special Council meeting currently proposed for August 2025

ALA Strategic Plan, ALA CD#53
Council voted to approve the ALA Strategic Plan as outlined in CD53 as amended to add the following language under Strategic Objectives Advocacy: “2. Expand partnerships with [national and international] aligned organizations…”

Committee on Professional Ethics, ALA CD#24.1
Council voted to adopt “Approval of Copyright: An Interpretation of the Library Code of Ethics”

New Business:

AFFILIATE REQUEST: IBPA Application, ALA CD#45.1
On the recommendation of the ALA Executive Board, the ALA Council approved the Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) as an affiliate of the American Library Association.

Council voted to adopt the Resolution Calling for Increased Awareness and Support for The Merritt Fund as amended in ALA CD#52

Council voted to adopt the Resolution to Honor the Contributions of Librarians Commemorated in the "Librarians We Have Lost" Initiative, ALA CD#54

Memorial Resolutions: 
Memorial Resolution #9 Honoring Steven Kerchoff
Memorial Resolution #10 Honoring Linda Ernst
Memorial Resolution #11  Honoring Dr. Gordon Baker
Memorial Resolution (Committee on Legislation Report) Honoring Rep. Raúl Grijalva
Memorial Resolution #12 Honoring Maryellen Trautman

Tribute Resolutions: 
Tribute Resolution #4 Recognizing the Fifth Anniversary of Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures
Tribute Resolution #5  Honoring Dr. Carla Hayden
Tribute Resolution #6  Honoring Sylvia Knight Norton

A complete list of Council Documents for ALA Annual Conference 2025 is available on the ALA website.

Please feel free to contact me if I can answer any questions. —Julie  Roach, ALSC Division Councilor
 

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ALSC sincerely thanks our Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet sponsors. We hope everyone had a memorable evening!

Gold Table Sponsors

ABRAMS
Baker & Taylor
HarperCollins Children's Books
Erin Entrada Kelly
Libraria
Listening Library
Random House Children’s Books

Silver Table Sponsors

Candlewick Press, Holiday House, and Peachtree
The Ohio State University
Penguin Young Readers
Stimola Literary Studio

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Many thanks to the following generous contributors to Friends of ALSC. To learn how you can support ALSC, visit our website.

President's Circle - $1,000 and above

Judy Zuckerman

Notables Circle - $100 to $249

David Edwards

Friends Circle - up to $99

Gail Nordstrom

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