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 ...

Former First Lady Jill Biden during the American Library Association President’s Program at the 2026 ALA Conference and Exhibition in Chicago on June 28. Photo: EPNAC When former First Lady Jill Biden ...

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, ...

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 ...

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: 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 ...

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

Marshall Breeding (left), editor of Library Technology Guides, and Brandy McNeil, deputy director of branch programming and services for New York Public Library, discuss artificial intelligence at a ...

This milestone is about more than looking back; it is about the momentum we carry into the next era. When we talk about shaping what’s next, we are acknowledging that the radical act of keeping ...

Min Jin Lee appeared as a Featured Speaker at the American Library Association’s 2026 Annual Conference and Exhibition on June 27. Photo: EPNAC Min Jin Lee, author of the National Book Award finalist ...