
ALA Is Turning 150 this Year. It’s Raising Millions of Dollars for Libraries to Celebrate
The American Library Association is raising $60 million for its 150th anniversary, the most ambitious philanthropic initiative in its history.

The American Library Association is raising $60 million for its 150th anniversary, the most ambitious philanthropic initiative in its history.

For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Alan Moores’s review of “So Young, So Great: Bob Feller Electrifies Baseball and America” by Jim Ingraham.

Libraries and schools across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of attempts to ban or remove books from their shelves. I Love Libraries will continue to raise awareness by highlighting attempts to censor library materials, as well as efforts by librarians, parents, students, and concerned citizens to push back against them. This update includes news from Tennessee, Arizona, and Texas, and a passionate reaction to book bans from a Today show cohost.

This Memorial Day, as the U.S. remembers those who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, we’re reflecting on how the American Library Association (ALA) responded during World War I. As tragedy and despair spread across the world during those wartime years, ALA worked to brighten the spirits of wounded soldiers by providing them with books and reading materials.

For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Dominic J. Caraccilo’s review of “A Hell of a Regiment: To Gettysburg and Beyond with the Twentieth Maine” by Jared Peatman.

2026 marks the 150th anniversary of the American Library Association. It’s a milestone that invites everyone across the country to imagine the libraries of tomorrow, to advocate fiercely for open access to knowledge, and to invest in the infrastructure, both digital and human, that makes libraries a foundation of thriving communities.

Kristi Holmes, PhD, associate dean for knowledge management and strategy and director of Northwestern University’s Galter Health Sciences Library and Learning Center, has been named the 2026 Medical Librarian of the Year by the Friends of the National Library of Medicine, a nonprofit devoted to increasing public awareness and use of the National Library of Medicine. The award honors individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and sustained contributions to the advancement of health sciences librarianship at the local, national, and international levels.

On May 14, Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen announced the latest round of recordings that will join the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for 2026. The 25 acts were selected as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.

For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Carol Haggas’s review of “Under the Falls” by Richard Russo.

The library media center at Vernon Hills High School in Illinois—just north of the American Library Association’s Chicago home—has been named National School Library of the Year.

In episode 33 of the “How I Library” podcast, show host and I Love Libraries editor Phil Morehart speaks with Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Kraus about his latest book, “Partially Devoured: How Night of the Living Dead Saved My Life and Changed the World.”

For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, ALA’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Jessica Durham’s review of “Three Sisters” by David Macinnis Gill.
Our friends at PBS News Student Reporting Labs are back with another season of “On Our Minds,” their award-winning podcast about the teenage experience.

As young readers confront the meaning of America’s 250th birthday this year, it’s important to allow them to see the wider picture beyond the familiar roster of “founding fathers” that fill the pages of history textbooks. ALA’s Booklist has selected 16 books that offer a rich variety of perspectives on the decades leading up to the American Revolution, the important events of America’s fight for independence, and the early days of the new nation as it wrestled with what life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness mean in practice.

This September, Laufey will join the American Library Association and libraries across the U.S. to give everyone a front row seat to the joy of getting a library card.

This Star Wars Day we’re listening to one of our favorite past episodes of American Libraries’ podcast that’s devoted to all things Star Wars. The show features conversations with three individuals who occupy a unique place in the Star Wars universe, revealing how the franchise has become a force with galactic influence.

For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Allie Steven’s review of “Red and the Wolves” by Cherry Zong.

April is School Library Month, when school librarians across the U.S. are encouraged to host activities to help their school and local community celebrate the essential role that strong school libraries play in transforming learning. For more than 40 years, School Library Month has highlighted the vital role school libraries play in the lives and education of our nation’s youth. It has a fascinating history.

Libraries and schools across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of attempts to ban or remove books from their shelves. I Love Libraries will continue to raise awareness by highlighting attempts to censor library materials, as well as efforts by librarians, parents, students, and concerned citizens to push back against them. This update includes details about ALA’s tracking of book bans and challenges in 2025, as well as news from Iowa, North Carolina, and Washington.

The American Library Association is raising $60 million for its 150th anniversary, the most ambitious philanthropic initiative in its history.

For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Alan Moores’s review of “So Young, So Great: Bob Feller Electrifies Baseball and America” by Jim Ingraham.

Libraries and schools across the country are experiencing unprecedented levels of attempts to ban or remove books from their shelves. I Love Libraries will continue to raise awareness by highlighting attempts to censor library materials, as well as efforts by librarians, parents, students, and concerned citizens to push back against them. This update includes news from Tennessee, Arizona, and Texas, and a passionate reaction to book bans from a Today show cohost.

This Memorial Day, as the U.S. remembers those who died while serving in the U.S. Armed Forces, we’re reflecting on how the American Library Association (ALA) responded during World War I. As tragedy and despair spread across the world during those wartime years, ALA worked to brighten the spirits of wounded soldiers by providing them with books and reading materials.

For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Dominic J. Caraccilo’s review of “A Hell of a Regiment: To Gettysburg and Beyond with the Twentieth Maine” by Jared Peatman.

2026 marks the 150th anniversary of the American Library Association. It’s a milestone that invites everyone across the country to imagine the libraries of tomorrow, to advocate fiercely for open access to knowledge, and to invest in the infrastructure, both digital and human, that makes libraries a foundation of thriving communities.

Kristi Holmes, PhD, associate dean for knowledge management and strategy and director of Northwestern University’s Galter Health Sciences Library and Learning Center, has been named the 2026 Medical Librarian of the Year by the Friends of the National Library of Medicine, a nonprofit devoted to increasing public awareness and use of the National Library of Medicine. The award honors individuals who demonstrate exceptional leadership, innovation, and sustained contributions to the advancement of health sciences librarianship at the local, national, and international levels.

On May 14, Acting Librarian of Congress Robert R. Newlen announced the latest round of recordings that will join the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress for 2026. The 25 acts were selected as audio treasures worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical, or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage.

For this installment of our weekly book reviews from Booklist, the American Library Association’s nationally distributed book and media review publication, we have Carol Haggas’s review of “Under the Falls” by Richard Russo.

The library media center at Vernon Hills High School in Illinois—just north of the American Library Association’s Chicago home—has been named National School Library of the Year.
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