Press Releases

Jun 07: Saint Marys (Penn.) Area Middle School Wins ALA’s 2022 Jaffarian Award for Empathizing with Teens in Trauma: Terezín/Theresienstadt Museum Project

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) has awarded its 2022 Sara Jaffarian School Library Program Award to Saint Marys (Penn.) Area Middle School for their program, Empathizing with Teens in Trauma:...

Jun 06: Christoforos Sassaris Awarded 2022 Core Christian Larew Memorial Scholarship

Christoforos Sassaris has been selected to receive the 2022 Core Christian Larew Memorial Scholarship ($3,000) sponsored by Baker & Taylor.

This scholarship is for master’s level study,...

Jun 06: Vnuk’s updated weeding handbook

CHICAGO — Filled with field-tested strategies and adaptable collection development policies, the new second edition of Rebecca Vnuk’s “The Weeding Handbook: A Shelf-by-Shelf Guide,” published by ALA Editions, will enable libraries to bloom by...

Jun 03: Managing data for patron privacy

CHICAGO — Libraries are not exempt from the financial costs of data breaches or leaks, no matter the size. Whether from a library worker unwittingly sharing a patron’s address with a perpetrator of domestic violence to leaving sensitive patron data unprotected, patrons can also pay a hefty price...

Jun 01: ALA distributes $1.55 million in COVID emergency relief to 77 U.S. libraries

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) announced today grants of $20,000 to 77 libraries that continue to experience substantial economic hardship due to the coronavirus pandemic. The ALA COVID Library Relief Fund grantees are academic, correctional, public, school, and tribal...

Jun 01: Library, author, bookseller groups condemn legal action attempting to censor books in Virginia

The American Library Association (ALA) joined with Virginia librarians and booksellers, publishers and civil liberties organizations to issue a statement on June 1 condemning a Virginia political candidate’s legal action that seeks...

May 31: 2022 PR Xchange Award Winners Announced

The PR Xchange Committee is delighted to announce the winners of this year's PR Xchange Awards Competition. This year, we have awarded 20 print winners and 24 electronic winners. Congratulations to those libraries! The PR Xchange Committee is charged with coordinating the annual awards...

May 31: Summer Online Courses with ALSC

CHICAGO-The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is offering two online courses this summer: The Newbery Medal: Past, Present and Future, in celebration of the end of the 100th Anniversary of the Newbery...

May 31: Freedom to Read Foundation 2022 Election Results

CHICAGO-The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF), a non-profit legal and educational organization affiliated with the American Library Association dedicated to protecting and defending each person’s First Amendment right to read, concluded its annual election on May 1,...

May 27: Women in Librarianship and Wellness webinar

The ALA Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) will present a complimentary webinar “Women in Librarianship and Wellness” on Tuesday, June 7, 2022, 2:00 pm (ET)/1:00 pm (Central)....

May 27: Judith P. Cannan Awarded 2022 Margaret Mann Citation

Judith P. Cannan has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Margaret Mann Citation, sponsored by OCLC and Core: Leadership, Infrastructure, Futures. She is the Chief of the Policy, Training, and Cooperative Programs Division at the Library of Congress, and is a respected leader, innovator,...

May 26: Core Webinar: Core New Members Interest Group Cover Letter Workshop

CHICAGO—Search committees spend hours digging...

May 25: The Arab Federation for Libraries and Information is the 2022 winner of the prestigious EBSCO Information Services Library Staff Development Award

CHICAGO — The Arab Federation for Libraries and Information (AFLI) is the 2022 winner of the prestigious EBSCO Information Services Library Staff Development Award. The award is presented annually to a library organization whose application demonstrates the greatest merit for a program of staff...

May 25: 'The Eagles Claw' by Jeff Shaara wins the W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction

“The Eagles Claw” by Jeff Shaara A novel of the Battle of Midway published by Ballantine Books is the winner of the 2022 W. Y. Boyd Literary Award for Excellence in Military Fiction.

The W.Y. Boyd Literary Award honors the best American Military Fiction set in a period when the United...

May 25: 2022 Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries awarded to Evergreen Park Public Library, Miami-Dade College Libraries, and RCS Community Library

The American Library Association’s Graphic Novels & Comics Round Table and the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation are pleased to announce the 2022 recipients of Will Eisner Graphic Novel Grants for Libraries. These grants, funded by the Will and Ann Eisner Family Foundation, are...

May 23: Meet the 2022 Class of Emerging Leaders at a Poster Session during ALA 2022 Annual Conference

Attendees of the American Library Association’s (ALA) 2022 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. are invited to meet the 2022 class of Emerging Leaders (EL) at a celebratory poster session Friday, June 24, 2022, 2:30 p.m.  – 3:30 p.m., at the Renaissance D.C. Hotel - Potomac Ballroom Salon 2....

May 23: Sourcebooks and ALA present 17-month weekly planner for book lovers

CHICAGO — Sourcebooks, a leading independent publisher based in Chicago, and the American Library Association’s (ALA) book publishing imprint, ALA Editions | ALA Neal-Schuman, announce publication of The American Library Association Recommended...

May 19: ALA Announces 2023 Carnegie Selection Committee

CHICAGO- The 2023 selection committee is starting work on choosing the longlist for the prestigious Andrew Carnegie Medals for Excellence in Fiction and Nonfiction. The 2023 committee includes the following experts who work closely...

May 19: Five projects receive 2022 AIA/ALA Library Building Award

The American Institute of Architects (AIA) and the American Library Association (ALA) are awarding five libraries with the 2022 AIA/ALA Library Building Award for excellence in architectural design.

Award recipients must demonstrate design achievement, including a sense of place, purpose...

May 18: Idina Menzel and Cara Mentzel get loud for libraries as honorary chairs of Library Card Sign-up Month 2022

CHICAGO — Tony Award-winning performer, actress, singer-songwriter, and philanthropist Idina Menzel and her sister, author and educator Cara Mentzel, have been named honorary chairs of Library Card Sign-Up Month. This...

May 17: Authors Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan to present at the virtual Digital Experience at the 2022 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) today announced that authors Jodi Picoult and Jennifer Finney Boylan will virtually present at the 2022 Annual Conference & Exhibition – Digital Experience....

May 17: Apply now for PLA Digital Literacy Workshop Incentive, supported by AT&T

CHICAGO – The Public Library Association (PLA) is now accepting applications for public libraries to receive funding to conduct digital literacy workshops using DigitalLearn.org resources. The ...

May 16: ACRL releases “Your Craft as a Teaching Librarian”

CHICAGO – The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) announces the publication of "Your Craft as a Teaching Librarian: Using Acting Skills to Create a Dynamic...

May 16: AASL’s guide to project-based learning for elementary grades

CHICAGO — Published by the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) and ALA Editions, Maura Madigan’s book “Project-Based Learning for Elementary Grades” delivers flexible, interdisciplinary, learner-driven projects that support the ...

May 16: Melanie Welch named director of ALA’s Public Programs Office

CHICAGO – Melanie Napoleon Welch has been named director of the American Library Association’s (ALA) Public Programs Office (PPO).

Welch joined ALA as a Project Director in the Public Programs Office in 2015. She was promoted to Deputy Director, and later took over as interim Director of...

May 13: Author, storyteller, and screenwriter R.L. Stine will present at the 2022 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition

CHICAGO — The American Library Association (ALA) announced this week that author, short story writer, television producer, and screenwriter R.L. Stine will present at the 2022 Annual Conference & Exhibition ...

May 13: Kimery elected 2023-2024 AASL Supervisors Section Chair

CHICAGO – Lindsey Kimery, Coordinator of Library Services for Metro Nashville (Tennessee) Public Schools, has been elected 2023-2024 chair of the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Supervisors Section (ISS).

“AASL serves as a guiding light for...

May 13: Lucas elected 2022-2024 AASL Independent Schools Section Secretary

CHICAGO – Amanda Lucas, librarian at Riverside Presbyterian Day School in Jacksonville, Florida, has been elected 2022-2024 secretary of the American Association of School Librarians’ (AASL) Independent Schools Section (ISS).

“In library school, my mentor Dr....