Happy spring, ALAO! I hope that your semesters are going well and that you are enjoying the warmer weather.

This past fall, the ALAO Board passed the updated our Strategic Plan for 2025-2030. I am happy to report that we are making progress toward this new strategic plan. I continue my work on Focus Area 3: Stewardship & Development. I am particularly interested in ensuring that our existing IGs and committees have the membership needed to thrive. I hope you will consider serving in some capacity within ALAO. I encourage anyone interested in serving within ALAO to reach out to me (president@alaoweb.org) or Sara Klink (pastpresident@alaoweb.org) for further information. 

Sustainability

One of key points of our Mission Statement is a commitment to sustainability.  To live up to this commitment, ALAO has partnered with the Sustainable Libraries Initiative (SLI) for 2026.  With this agreement, ALAO members can request a free 12-month access to the SLI “members only” recourses including their Roadmap to Sustainability, discounted or free eCourse content on Sustainability, and on-demand webinars. Additionally, this agreement includes a discounted rate for their Sustainable Library Certification program. 

I would like to thank Mandi Goodsett and Megan Jaskowiak for their work in getting this agreement together.  I look forward to working with Mandi and Megan in the next several months in promoting four separate webinars from SLI for our members to learn about the Initiative and how they can implement sustainable practices within their own libraries.   

Committee Changes

In the February, the ALAO Board unanimously passed a proposal put forward by Brea McQueen & Beronica Avila that would combine the position of Advocacy Chair with the Diversity Committee. This proposal noted that the responsibilities of the Advocacy Chair and the Diversity Committee significantly overlapped and suggested that combining their efforts within a single committee would be more effective.

Given the current political environment, this change removes language viewed as being controversial and helps eliminate some of the barriers to participating in this important work. Some ALAO members are in more vulnerable positions and institutions than others, and ALAO is committed to eliminating as many barriers as possible while still preserving the work of supporting and advocating for all our members and the patrons we serve. 

ACRL 2031

Columbus, Ohio is currently under strong consideration as the host city for ACRL 2031. With Ohio’s award-winning library systems, strong library consortia, and an exceptional ALAO membership, I believe Columbus would make an outstanding host city for ACRL. Additionally, being steps away from the Columbus Convention Center, the Short North Arts District offers wonderful assortment of venues where ACRL attendees can socialize and enjoy the city’s vibrant arts, dining, and entertainment scene.

To say the least, I am very excited about this possibility! As President of ALAO, I have been asked to submit a letter of support to the ACRL Site Selection Committee. I plan to ask the ALAO Board to endorse this letter at the March 20, 2026 Board meeting.