ALA Public Policy & Advocacy

Libraries have been gearing up for election season all year, with programming and resources to help their patrons get #ReaderVoterReady! Still need some last minute inspiration? Check out our Ready Voter Ready resources for event ideas and more: ala.org/advocacy/initiatives/reader-voter-ready

With three days of insights, keynotes, exhibitors, and conversations with fellow library leaders at Core Forum, you’ll find the inspiration, practical ideas, and next steps to move your library forward. CORE Forum is approaching fast! Register now. https://coreforum.org/ #CoreForum

The Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) program powers school literacy initiatives across the country. The Administration's decision to slash the number of grants awarded through IAL flies in the face of Congress's intent and the Administration's own stated goal of supporting literacy. More ⤵️

📣 Special announcement for small and rural libraries: ALA's United for Libraries division and Penguin Random House are teaming up for a 3rd year to support Friends groups serving small and rural libraries with project grants! Applications open Dec. 8. Learn more: https://bit.ly/4hdubzv

Happy #NationalFriendsOfLibrariesWeek! This week, we're celebrating the library friends, trustees, & boards who help libraries thrive. Friends of the library are also advocates for the library. From fighting for E-Rate to standing up for intellectual freedom, friends of libraries are vital!

ALA is grateful to Senators Patty Murray (WA) & Tammy Baldwin (WI) for their advocacy for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy program, a Dept of Education program supporting literacy in schools, including in school libraries, in a recent letter to the agency: www.murray.senate.gov/murray-baldw...

The Dept's recent decisions have cut the number of awarded grants & reduced the potential impact of the funding. ALA agrees w the Senators: Federal funding should be spent as Congress intended, to benefit the communities it was designed to support. More: www.appropriations.senate.gov/imo/media/do...

Happy #NationalFriendsOfLibrariesWeek! 🎉 This week we celebrate the volunteers who support their libraries in all kinds of ways—from fundraising to advocacy to spreading the word about the great things the library offers. Learn more about becoming a library friend: https://bit.ly/4nau4Xd

Registration for National Library Legislative Day is open! Join us in Washington, DC, Feb 24-25, to make your voice heard for libraries. Meet other library professionals, gain new advocacy skills, & speak with your elected officials. Attendance is limited; register now: ala.org/advocacy/nlld

November's elections are almost here! Coast to coast and beyond, libraries are helping their communities get registered, informed, and ready to vote. Looking for new resources for your library? Check out our #ReaderVoterReady materials for inspiration and tools: www.ala.org/advocacy/ini...

ALA stands behind E-Rate and the libraries and communities it powers nationwide with broadband discounts. We are extremely disappointed in yesterday's ruling by the 5th Circuit invalidating the FCC's structure for administering broadband programs like E-Rate: www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Stay tuned for more analysis and next steps from ALA and our partners. We've fought for E-Rate and the communities it connects since the program's inception. We're not backing down. Learn more about our advocacy for E-Rate: www.ala.org/advocacy/fed...

NEW: ALA submitted comments to the FCC defending the E-Rate program's discounts for broadband at libraries. We have fought for digital connectivity at the library for over 30 years. We're not backing down now. More: https://www.ala.org/news/2026/10/ala-showcases-outsized-impact-library-broadband-fcc

Have questions about ALA's archive? Head over to @ala-archives.bsky.social for #AskAnArchivistDay2026! We're always grateful for the incredible work the archives team does to preserve and manage the records and history of our Association and the field.

Last week we were thrilled to celebrate former colleague Alan Inouye, a central pillar of ALA's advocacy during his time on our team! At the @publicknowledge.bsky.social IP3 awards, Alan was honored w/ the Intellectual Property award for his dedication to copyright advocacy & access. Congrats, Alan!

Are you ready to join us in Washington, DC? Registration for National Library Legislative Day is now open! This is your chance to speak directly to your elected officials in Washington. Join us in DC from Feb 24-25! Attendance is limited; register now to secure a spot: www.ala.org/news/2026/10...

Library advocates from across the country will join us to urge Congress to support libraries and our communities. This is an opportunity to practice your advocacy skills, make a tangible impact, & connect with an amazing group of dedicated library professionals. Learn more & register: ala.org/nlld

This #BannedBooksWeek, we're also celebrating National Voter Education Week! Voters count on America’s Libraries to prepare for elections and get #ReaderVoterReady. Learn more and find resources for your library: ala.org/readervoterready

Last week, our team was thrilled to welcome students from the Fleischaker-Greene First Amendment Reporting Class @ Western Kentucky University to our office in DC! Students & their professor Walker Rutledge from WKU joined us to discuss censorship, libraries, & the importance of the first amendment.

Don't miss ALA Pres. Maria McCauley on the Project Censored Show! Tune in: https://www.projectcensored.org/banned-books-week-2026-let-books-be/ And to celebrate #BannedBooksWeek, Project Censored has a new round-up of news, tools, & more: https://www.projectcensored.org/make-america-read-again/

ALA tracks attempts to ban or censor books in libraries and schools by compiling reports from library workers and media coverage to identify censorship trends and the books challenged most frequently. Here are the Top 11 Most Challenged Books from 2025. Learn more: ala.org/top10. #BannedBooksWeek

This National Education Week, which happens to fall during #BannedBooksWeek, make sure you're #ReaderVoterReady! Get registered, get informed, and get ready. Find more resources for you and your library at ala.org/readervoterready

Award-winning author Jacqueline Woodson shares one of her earliest memories of the library. Woodson's books have earned many accolades, and they've also been challenged by censors. ALA has tracked attempts to remove or restrict 18 of her titles in U.S. libraries and schools. #BannedBooksWeek

Behind each banned or challenged title is an author being professionally—and sometimes personally—targeted for the stories they've chosen to share. For #BannedBooksWeek, @amlibraries.bsky.social spoke with five authors about their experiences. https://bit.ly/4ehBypJ

Beloved author Judy Blume thanks librarians for helping kids feel less alone. Blume's books have been challenged in libraries and schools for decades. "Forever" was listed at #21 of our list of the Top 150 Most Challenged Books since ALA began tracking book bans: https://bit.ly/4jJJxiQ

Our team is thrilled to be attending #AnchorNets2026 this week in Arlington, VA, hosted by the Schools, Health & Libraries Broadband Coalition! We can't wait for the great conversations with advocates from across the country dedicated to keeping their communities connected.

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has proclaimed today, October 6, as American Library Association Day in Chicago in recognition of ALA's direct positive impact on libraries in Chicago and nationwide. Thank you, Chicago, from your neighbors at ALA. Read the full proclamation: https://bit.ly/4hxwsYL

This year’s #BannedBooksWeek coincides with ALA’s official 150th anniversary. To mark the occasion, ALA has released a list of the 150 most challenged books documented from 1990, when ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom began tracking book challenges, through 2025. ala150.org/150books

Author, advocate, and former @ala-booklist.bsky.social staff member John Green wishes ALA a happy 150th! Green's books have been frequently challenged in libraries and schools. His book "Looking for Alaska" was tied at #8 on our Top 10 Most Challenged Books list for 2025. #ALA150 #BannedBooksWeek

It's #BannedBooksWeek, it's ALA's birthday, and... it's National Voter Education Week! Voters count on America's libraries to prepare for elections and get #ReaderVoterReady. Learn more and find tools for your library: ala.org/readervoterready

Today, ALA turns 150! For 150 years, library workers have come together through ALA to learn, connect, advocate, and strengthen libraries. ALA staff are proud to support that work every day. To celebrate this milestone, we asked staff to share some of their favorite ALA memories.

Celebrate 150 years of ALA with our staff! We're incredibly proud to support libraries, library workers, and everyone they serve, every day of the year.

Join #BannedBooksWeek Honorary Chair Tony Weaver, Jr. and 2026 Youth Honorary Chairs for a conversation about how censorship affects young people and why their voices matter in the fight for the freedom to read. Find more Banned Books Week events: www.ala.org/bbooks/events #LetBooksBe

Coming up tomorrow, Oct 5, 2pm ET! Don't miss this spotlight with award-winning author and #BannedBooksWeek honorary chair Bess Kalb, author of the bestselling Buffalo Fluffalo books about an insecure young buffalo that helps young readers embrace self-acceptance. Register: https://bit.ly/3VuBXib

Let books be. Today kicks off #BannedBooksWeek, an annual observation started more than 40 years ago in response to a sudden surge in attempts to censor or remove books in libraries, schools, and bookstores. Sound familiar? Find ways to get involved and spread the word: https://bit.ly/4yvixbB.

Over the past 150 years, ALA has advocated at every level of government, for libraries and our communities. As we mark this anniversary for ALA and the field, check out a few of our key advocacy milestones, from library services for the blind to the creation of IMLS: ala.org/advocacy150

"A lot has changed since the American Library Association was established in 1876 — even just over the past decade. The library has gone from a building full of books to arguably the most versatile civic center in any community lucky enough to have one." https://nyti.ms/47zF62M

ALA and AASL are proud to support the Quality Educator Partnership Act (QEPA), introduced in Congress by Rep Alma Adams & Sen Jack Reed. Through new pathways & infrastructure the bill seeks to make it easier for educators, including school librarians, to start, advance, & thrive in their careers.

Our team was proud to join advocates for free speech and free religious expression last week here in Washington for a roundtable on the importance of these fundamental rights. ALA's Lisa Varga highlighted the "shared values of libraries and faith communities". More: baptistnews.com/article/coal...

The Works Progress Administration was created in May 1935 as part of the New Deal to provide jobs to the unemployed during the Great Depression. One of the WPA’s most idealistic goals was to send books and librarians to areas where there were none. Read more: https://bit.ly/4hkgtNC #ALA150

In Idaho, libraries worry what cuts or elimination of the E-Rate program would mean for their budgets. The program supports essential broadband access in public libraries nationwide: www.kmvt.com/video/2026/0... Tell the FCC and Congress to #SaveOurERate: ala.org/erate

Happy Dolly Day! Dolly's Imagination Library program has provided millions of free books to children. We hope you'll #GiveLikeDolly to your local library and continue her legacy supporting children's literacy. You can also support ALA's work advancing literacy of all kinds: https://bit.ly/4xPCOYn

#LibraryCardSignUpMonth is the perfect time to check out your library's 'Library of Things.' From musical instruments to prom dresses to ghost hunting kits, who knows what you'll discover? Sign up for a library card today! https://nyti.ms/4iCSavk

In Arizona, libraries and schools are worried about budget shortfalls if the FCC cuts E-Rate discounts for broadband service. Communities depend on this critical federal program: azdailysun.com/news/nationa... Tell Congress and the FCC to #SaveOurERate: ala.org/erate

Communities in every single state and territory rely on the internet provided at their libraries. And the libraries rely on E-Rate discounts to afford it. New FCC proposals threaten that service discount: www.unionleader.com/news/educati... Tell Congress and the FCC to #SaveOurERate: ala.org/erate

The #ALAAC27 Call for Proposals will end on September 21 at 11:59pm ET. This is your last call to share ideas, insights, and experiences that can educate and inspire colleagues across the profession. Don’t miss out—submit your proposal today. https://bit.ly/4qz7PgR

"Our history reflects how we as an association have grappled with, sometimes faltered, and at other times made inroads toward being a more inclusive ALA," writes ALA President Maria McCauley. Read her full piece on the ALA150 blog: https://bit.ly/4h8ZyMv

Have you taken action to #SaveOurERate? The FCC's proposals for the program would be devastating for libraries across the country that rely on discounts for broadband service, including those in Idaho: www.kmvt.com/2026/09/15/f... Tell Congress and the FCC to save our E-Rate: ala.org/erate

As National Voter Registration Day begins to wind down, ALA would like to thank every library worker who has helped their community get registered, informed, & ready to vote! Whether you helped one voter confirm their polling place or assisted dozens with registration, you made an impact today.

From coast to coast & beyond, libraries & library workers are celebrating National Voter Registration Day by helping their patrons get registered, informed, & ready to vote! But have YOU registered or checked your registration? Head to nationalvoterregistrationday.org/register-to-vote/ right now!