American Library Association

Cover of the "Intellectual Freedom Manual" by the Office for Intellectual Freedom, American Library Association, Eleventh Edition. The design features colorful, patterned triangles overlaying text snippets.

When facing a tough intellectual freedom issue, you don’t have time to wade through dense text to find the answers you need. Designed as a real-world reference, the new edition of OIF’s "Intellectual Freedom Manual" provides trusted, comprehensive guidance in plain language. https://bit.ly/46Jfn8i

This image is a graphic promoting "United for Libraries 2026 Survey of the Library Field." It features a chart with a rising white arrow over green bars, symbolizing growth. The text invites completion of the survey by Friday, March 13, for a chance to win free United Virtual 2026 registration.

United for Libraries supports those who govern, promote, advocate, and fundraise for libraries.

Complete their 2026 survey on ways to best support library Friends, Foundations & Trustees for a chance to win FREE registration for United for Libraries Virtual 2026! https://bit.ly/4kDlksW

Image: Photo of Featured Speaker Melissa Villaseñor Photo Credit: Jim McCambridge Register Today and SAVE with early rates! ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition June 25-29, 2026 Chicago FOR OUR LIBRARIES. FOR 150 YEARS MORE. American Library Association | ALAAnnual.org

✨We’re thrilled to welcome Melissa Villaseñor to #ALAAC26! The multifaceted actress, impressionist, artist, and writer will discuss her debut picture book, "Cat and Lola: School Picture Day." @gloobooks.bsky.social

Register Today. https://bit.ly/4qJALBq

Show up for our libraries. ALA 150, American Library Association.

NEW: Congress has begun preparation for next year's federal budget, and they need to hear from library advocates like you.

The best way to show up #ForOurLibraries during the budget process? Take action.

Tell your Representative to #FundLibraries in FY 2027: ala.org/showup

Responding to ICE at the Library: Real World Approaches. Public Library Association. Free to ALA individual members. On Demand. Register now.

When ICE officers enter a public library, staff need to respond calmly and within the law. Watch this on-demand webinar for real-world guidance from libraries navigating these situations.

Free for ALA members. Open to nonmembers for a registration fee.
elearning.ala.org/local/catalo...

Support public libraries. Donate to ALA and get a free audiobook credit from Libro.fm! #LibraryLoversMonth. Logos for American Library Association and Libro.fm

Today (Sat, Feb 28) is the LAST DAY to score a free audiobook credit from @libro.fm when you donate $15+ to either ALA or directly to your public library / library Friends group!

Learn more and give to ALA today: https://bit.ly/4rFew1l

ALA public Policy & Advocacy staff posing together in front of an ALA logo banner, holding signs that say "Show up for E-Rate" and "Fund Libraries"

From our team here in Washington, THANK YOU to every ALA member and advocate who showed up #ForOurLibraries in DC this week for #NLLD26!

As you might have been able to tell, we were thrilled to welcome you to the District and support your advocacy in Congress. We can't wait to see you next year!

Cover of the book "The Librarian's Guide to Bibliotherapy" by Judith H. Ward and Nicholas A. Allred.

Bibliotherapy can help librarians support both their communities and themselves. Judit H. Ward and Nicholas A. Allred share ideas, examples, and best practices for bibliotherapy-inspired initiatives that empower librarians to promote well-being. https://bit.ly/4c6JpX3

The American Library Association strongly denounces new federal book banning legislation proposed in Congress. Call your Reps. Tell them to oppose H.R. 7661. Capitol switchboard: 202-224-3121 American Library Association, Show Up For Our Libraries

"Parents, not politicians, should guide their children’s reading. In our school, campus, and public libraries, materials are selected by trained literacy professionals who understand child development and community needs. Their work is grounded in one clear purpose: helping young people become lifelong readers. H.R. 7661 isn’t fundamentally about protecting kids. It’s about giving politicians broad authority to restrict whose stories are allowed on the shelves. That should concern anyone who believes in the freedom to read and the right of families to make decisions for themselves.” - ALA President Sam Helmick

"Rather than targeting librarians and teachers, Congress should invest in them. The Right to Read Act offers a better path, supporting well-staffed and well-resourced school libraries, strengthening evidence-based literacy instruction, and protecting the dedicated professionals who help young people discover books that open doors and expand horizons. When we trust families, support educators, and protect the freedom to read, our young people thrive.” - ALA President Sam Helmick.

NEW: ALA strongly denounces new federal book banning legislation introduced in Congress, HR 7661.

As ALA President Sam Helmick said, "Parents, not politicians, should guide their children's reading." Call your Rep and tell them to oppose this new bill.

More from ALA: www.ala.org/news/2026/02...

Image: Photo of Featured Speaker Billy Porter Photo Credit: Afshin Feiz Register Today and SAVE with early rates! ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition June 25-29, 2026 Chicago FOR OUR LIBRARIES. FOR 150 YEARS MORE. American Library Association | ALAAnnual.org

We are excited to welcome actor, playwright, singer, and author @theebillyporter.bsky.social to the #ALAAC26 main stage! Join him in a special conversation about his new book, "Songbird in the Light," a beautiful and empowering picture book.

Register with early rates! https://bit.ly/4qJALBq

ALA advocates walking towards the Capitol Building in Washington, DC

That's a wrap on National Library Legislative Day!

To every advocate who showed up #ForOurLibraries and brought your voice to Capitol Hill: thank you. From coast to coast & beyond, libraries are stronger because of you.

Stay tuned for more photos from #NLLD26 (& ways to take action from home 👀)

Photo of Jesse Jackson speaking to a crowd at ALA's Rally for America's Libraries in 1991. Text over photo reads "Jesse Jackson and a Legacy of Library Activism" ALA150, American Library Association

Rev. Jesse Jackson has long occupied an essential place in the history of America’s libraries as one of the Greenville Eight, arrested for demanding dignity and respect in his community’s public library in Greenville, SC, in 1960.

Read about his decades of library advocacy: https://bit.ly/4aCSBBl

Core Interest Group Week is back with 35 free sessions. Join us March 2–6 for a virtual gathering that brings together library professionals from across the field to talk leadership, metadata, collections, preservation, technology, and more.
Explore the full lineup: www.ala.org/core/interes...

Happy to be here #ForOurLibraries and for our communities!

A photo of a large group of people on the steps of Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

National Library Legislative Day is officially here! Library advocates are on the Hill in Washington to make their voices heard and urge support for our country’s libraries in Congress. Thank you to EVERY ALA member and advocate who’s here to show up #ForOurLibraries! #NLLD26 #FundLibraries

Advocates and presenters speaking on stage at NLLD 2026

Advocates here in Washington today for #NLLD26 are preparing for their meetings with elected officials - this is incredibly important work, and we’re grateful for EVERY advocate and presenter for putting in the time to show up #ForOurLibraries.

ALA Exec Director Dan Montgomery, Rep Sean Casten, RAILS’ Monica Harris, and ALA’s Lisa Varga, posing together in Rep Casten’s office.

Meetings with Congress are already underway during #NLLD26!

Thank you @casten.house.gov for meeting with the Illinois library community - we’re tremendously grateful for your support for libraries in Illinois and across the country. #FundLibraries

Thank you for flagging this, Kristin!

Thank you NLLD 2026 sponsors! Ingram Content Group, Library Services. Sno-Isle Libraries.

ALA is extremely grateful to the sponsors of #NLLD26 for supporting this critical event and ALA’s advocacy!

Thank you to Ingram Content Group and Sno-Isle Libraries. Your support helps bring library voices to Capitol Hill and ensures that our elected officials hear us loud and clear.

Lisa Varga speaking in a ballroom.

Slide that reads “Our Unified Front: From Every Corner to DC”

ALA’s Lisa Varga - the leader of the @librarypolicy.bsky.social team - reminds us at #NLLD26 that we do not need all the answers to be effective advocates.

“You’re already miles ahead” as information professionals.

We know that our advocates are prepared and excited to make the case for libraries.

ALA Executive Director Dan Montgomery speaking in front of a ballroom.

ALA Executive Director Dan Montgomery speaking to the crowd at #NLLD26: “Our greatest strength is YOU and your dedication to the profession.”

Our members power our library advocacy. YOU make the difference, and we couldn’t do it without you.

Advocates sitting together in a. ballroom for National Library Legislative Day 2026.

ALA staff posing in front of ALA logos holding a sign saying “Fund Libraries”

ALA President Sam Helmick in front of the room at NLLD 2026.

What’s that noise we hear…? It’s the sound of library advocates rallying together in Washington, DC!

We’re THRILLED to welcome ALA members & library advocates from across the country for National Library Legislative Day 2026 here in DC. Next stop: Capitol Hill, to show up #ForOurLibraries. #NLLD26

Thank you for your support @libro.fm! ❤️

Donate $15 or more this week to your local public library, library Friends group, or to ALA and receive a free audiobook credit!

Give to ALA here: bit.ly/4rFew1l

Libraries help communities weather storms. Many are getting snowed under COMMENTARY | The recent winter storms showed how vital libraries are, but they are struggling with deferred maintenance and an uncertain funding future.

With more storms on the East Coast this week, we're reminded that libraries & library workers show up for their communities in difficult moments.

But as ALA President Sam Helmick writes, library facilities are struggling under the weight of deferred maintenance: www.route-fifty.com/digital-gove...

Black and white photo of a Black woman checking materials out to a group of children. Small caption in top right reads: "Photo [original caption]: 'LOS ANGELES, October, 1949 – Elementary school pupils William Bias, Elizabeth Coggins and Jerry Sekido think it’s pretty interesting to watch Nellie Greene charge out their library books with the new Recordak charger on the Children’s Traveling Branch, operated by the Los Angeles Public Library.'" Text over photo reads: "ACTION, NOT REACTION: Integrating the Library Profession. Words: Denise Rayman, Photos: ALA Archives" ALA150, American Library Association

In the midst of the Civil Rights era in America, librarians were battling for and against segregated libraries in the South, and over integration within their own ranks. Integration of the library profession was a long process that started in the early 1900s.

Read more: https://bit.ly/3ZJpar4

Group of library workers engaged in animated conversation. Call for Proposals, Core Forum, November 18 - 20, 2026. Louisville, KY.

Submit a proposal for Core Forum 2026 and join us in Louisville Nov 18–20. Topics include access & equity, leadership, technology, metadata, preservation, and more.
Deadline: to submit is March 8.
https://www.ala.org/news/2026/01/submit-proposal-core-forum-2026-louisville

ALA President Sam Helmick: #PLA2026 is an opportunity to show up for Minnesota library workers, celebrate resilience in our profession, and learn, network, and grow together.

Join us April 1–3 in Minneapolis.
Advance registration rates end today!

Learn more & register: placonference.org
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First portion of a letter from ALA to Chairman Risch and Ranking Member Shaheen on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "Re: S.3733, Community Passport Services Access Act - SUPPORT. Dear Chairman Risch and Ranking Member Shaheen, On behalf of the American Library Association (ALA), I write in support of S. 3733, the Community Passport Services Access Act, and its House companion, H.R. 6997. These bills would allow nonprofit public libraries to continue serving as passport acceptance facilities designated by the State Department. Many libraries across the country serve as passport acceptance facilities. These libraries offer a convenient location for Americans to apply for a U.S. passport, especially in rural areas which may be distant from other passport acceptance facilities."

ALA reiterates our strong support for proposed legislation in Congress to protect passport acceptance services at nonprofit libraries. As we said in a letter to Congressional committee leadership, thousands of Americans use these critical services.

Our earlier statement: www.ala.org/news/2026/02...

Image: Photos of Opening General Session Speaker Rachel Maddow and Closing General Session Speaker Wayne Brady Photo Credit: Maddow: MS NOW and Brady: Jason Michael Fordham Register Today and SAVE with early rates! ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition June 25-29, 2026 Chicago FOR OUR LIBRARIES. FOR 150 YEARS MORE. American Library Association | ALAAnnual.org

✨ Registration is officially OPEN for #ALAAC26! Hear from author and MS NOW host Rachel Maddow and author and Emmy Award-winning actor Wayne Brady @kensingtonbooks.bsky.social when they headline ALA Annual this summer. Register Now and SAVE with early rates. https://2026.alaannual.org/

Two people smile at the camera at the Public Library Association 2026 Conference. The text reads, "Find Your [Library] People. Advance registration rates end Feb. 20!" The event is scheduled for April 1-3 in Minneapolis. The website mentioned is placonference.org.

Public library professionals, take note: advance rates for #PLA2026 end Friday, February 20.

Join us April 1–3 in Minneapolis for 100+ sessions, inspiring speakers, bestselling authors, and an exhibit hall packed with solutions.

Register now to save! https://www.placonference.org/registration