On March 14, President Trump issued an executive order intended to dismantle the Institute of Museum and Library Services. ALA and AFSCME have filed a federal lawsuit in response.
The 2025 theme is “Censorship Is So 1984. Read for Your Rights.”
Discover ways to get involved and use our free graphics to raise awareness about the harms of censorship.
This milestone isn’t just about looking back. It’s about rallying together to protect what matters now, and to imagine the libraries we’ll need for the next 150 years.
ALA launched a new supporter program in February, inviting the public to join the fight to protect libraries and library professionals at this pivotal moment in our country’s history.
The ALA Mission
Empowering and advocating for libraries and library workers to ensure equitable access to information for all.
Read the Latest Issue
Read the September/October 2025 issue of American Libraries, which features the annual Library Design Showcase, a celebration of new and newly renovated libraries of all types and sizes. Plus, read an interview with award-winning author R. F. Kuang, an article about how librarians are grappling with AI-generated content in their collections, and more.
Get Involved
ALA is the largest membership association in the library industry. It's a community of people working together to ensure that libraries remain vital centers of literacy, access, and opportunity.
By giving to ALA, you are helping us improve library and information services and the profession of librarianship to ensure access to information for all.
Fight Censorship: Take Action Against Book Bans
ALA compiles data on book challenges from reports filed by library professionals in the field and from news stories published throughout the United States.
Book Résumés help librarians, parents, and community members defend books from censorship. They detail each title’s significance and educational value and are easy to share with administrators, review committees, and elected officials.
Your front line reports help ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom to stay on top of trends and supply library workers with resources to combat censorship. You can also help get the word out and encourage reporting of book censorship.
Resource Quick Links
ALSC's Children's Notable lists highlight media for children 14 years of age and younger of especially commendable quality that demonstrate respect for young people’s intelligence and imagination; exhibit venturesome creativity; and reflect and encourage the interests of children and young adolescents in exemplary ways.
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Programming Resources
The American Library Association (ALA) Public Programs Office empowers libraries to create vibrant hubs of learning and connection in communities of all types.
Learn more about the ALA Public Programs Office
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ALA's Programming Librarian website is a place for library professionals to share, learn, and be inspired to present excellent programming for their communities.
More Resources for Librarians
News and Press Center
For more than 140 years, the American Library Association has been the trusted voice for all libraries, advocating for the profession and the library's role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all.
Contact the ALA Communications, Marketing, and Media Relations team to learn more about ALA positions and actions and get comprehensive insights into key issues facing libraries nationwide.
News and Press Resources
ALA Connect
Discussion boards and shared libraries provide collaboration tools connecting more than 50,000 library professionals with a wide variety of interests and specialization is the place to share ideas and make new connections with library workers across the globe.
Complete your profile and grow your online professional network at ALA Connect!
News Around ALA
See all ALA News at the ALA News and Press Center
PLA seeks responses to 2025 Public Library Services for Strong Communities Surv…
Aging Together: An Evaluation of Library Programming for Older Adults
Awards, Grants, and Scholarships
ALA Awards
From captivating storytelling to groundbreaking research, the ALA Awards program showcases the best in literature and media.
Visit the Book and Media Awards home page
ALA Professional Recognition Awards honor individuals and institutions that have made significant contributions to the advancement of library science and services.
ALA Grants
ALA Grants invest in the future of libraries and librarianship through the funding of programming, research, and professional development. Grants may be offered to support the planning and implementation of programs, to promote research in library and information sciences, to assist with conference and travel fees, and more.
Quick Links
ALA Scholarships
The American Library Association and its units provide more than $300,000 annually for study in a master's degree in library and information studies from an ALA-accredited program, or for a master's degree with a specialty in school librarianship that meets the ALA curriculum guidelines for a CAEP-accredited unit.
The scholarship process is open annually from September 1st - March 1st.
ALA Scholarships Links
Shop ALA
Underserved populations frequently do not have access to a library—or they may even be unaware that they have an information need. How can we as a profession effectively reach them?
Visit the Graphics Gift Shop for all-new Vintage ALA items--t-shirts, hoodies, tote bags, pencil pouches, stickers, and more!
Designed to support state curricula and teaching standards, this full-color book combines facsimiles of primary sources from the Library of Congress's unparalleled collections with teaching strategies and mroe resources.
Whether it's a hardcover or paperback, an audiobook, or eBook, it's all reading! Display this poster to celebrate and promote reading in a variety of formats.