ALA president-elect candidate Andrea Jamison withdraws candidacy

CHICAGO - Andrea Jamison, assistant professor of school librarianship at Illinois State University, has withdrawn her candidacy for the American Library Association (ALA) president-elect and Intellectual Freedom Round Table director at large. Her name will be removed from the election ballot, which will be sent to ALA members Monday, March 10.

Two candidates remain in the race: Lindsay Cronk, Dean of Libraries, Tulane University, New Orleans; and Maria McCauley, Director of Libraries, Cambridge Public Library, Massachusetts.

Cronk currently serves as a member of Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures. She’s a member of the Core 5 Year Fundraising Team, and she served as president of Core in 2021-22. She was lead, Core Communications Working Group. She has also served on ALA Council, co-authoring ALA's Resolution to Condemn White Supremacy and Fascism as Antithetical to Library Work. Before that, she served on the Board of the Library Information Technology Association and edited its popular LITA Blog. She is the first woman to serve as Dean of Libraries at Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana. She is Vice Chair of ARL's Advocacy and Public Policy Committee, 2024-2025.

She also serves on the Board of the Association of Southeastern Research Libraries, Clarivate North American Advisory, and the Serials Librarian. She is the co-creator and founder of PeMento: Peer Mentoring for MidCareer Library Workers.

McCauley, who was a Spectrum Scholar, is a current member of Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures; and Public Library Association and the Association of College and Research Libraries. She is also a current member of the Rainbow Round Table, Sustainability Round Table, Intellectual Freedom Round Table, and the International Relations Round Table. She is also a member of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, Chinese American Librarians Association, Black Caucus of ALA, REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information, Services to Latinos and the Spanish-speaking, and the American Indian Library Association, and the Freedom to Read Foundation. She is also a member of the Massachusetts Library Association and the New England Library Association.

She has held several leadership positions, including At-Large Councilor, ALA Council, Executive Board member, and Fiscal and Audit Committee. She also was PLA president (2022-23) and a PLA board member.

Ballot mailing for the ALA election will run through April 2, 2025. Individuals must be members in good standing to vote in the 2025 ALA elections. Renew your membership online or by calling 1-800-545-2433, option 1.

To learn more about the candidates, please visit the ALA Election webpage.

About the American Library Association

The American Library Association (ALA) is the only non-partisan, nonprofit organization dedicated entirely to America's libraries and library professionals. For almost 150 years, ALA has provided resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. The ALA serves academic, public, school, government, and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit www.ala.org.