A look back at the speakers and educational programs at ALA's 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago.

2026 Annual Conference Preview By Sallyann Price The tone and content of this year’s slate of speakers, programs, and gatherings strike a balance between the retrospective and the speculative, as ...

With more than 600 vendors and a variety of live stages and pavilions, the Library Marketplace showcased products for libraries facing intense new challenges. Services and solutions that focused on ...

From left: Julianne Novetsky-Welsh, outreach coordinator at Warren (Mich.) Public Library; Kristina Shiroma, assistant professor in the School of Information Studies at Louisiana State University in ...

From left: Becca Greenstein, STEM librarian at Northwestern University Libraries in Evanston, Illinois; Ann McIntire, information services supervisor at Prince George’s County (Md.) Memorial Library ...

Melissa Villaseñor may be best known as the first Latina repertory cast member of Saturday Night Live, but she’s embraced an individual creative identity that extends beyond comedy to music, drawing, ...

American Library Association (ALA) President-Elect Maria McCauley called the second Council meeting of ALA’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition to order at 9:08 a.m. on June 28 at the McCormick ...

Rachel Maddow was the Opening General Session speaker at the American Library Association’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 26. Photo: EPNAC Rachel Maddow wasn’t sure if she ...

Who says teens are disaffected? At “Career Quest: Engaging Teens with their Future Careers,” presenters Anna Kopinska and Kristin Linscott discussed how their library has helped young people get ...

American Library Association (ALA) President Sam Helmick called the final Council meeting of ALA’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago to order at approximately 9:05 a.m. on June 29. The ...

From left: ALA Executive Director Dan Montgomery, ALA Past President Sam Helmick, OIF Executive Director Sarah Lamdan, and ALA President Maria McCauleyPhoto: EPNAC Sam Helmick recalls the first moment ...

Rachel Maddow was the Opening General Session speaker at the American Library Association’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 26. Photo: EPNAC ...