ALA-International Relations

06/24/2026

An important update to our Closing General Session.

While our previously announced closing session speaker is no longer able to join us, we're excited to close ALA Annual 2026 with an insightful leadership session, featuring Sam Helmick, ALA President; Maria McCauley, ALA President-elect; Sarah Lamdan, Executive Director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom; and Moderator, Dan Montgomery, ALA Executive Director.

As the United States approaches its 250th anniversary and ALA celebrates 150 years, ALA library leaders will discuss the challenges facing access, expression, and the freedom to read—and what it will take to ensure libraries remain pillars of democracy for generations to come.

Not registered? Don't put it off, Register Now. https://bit.ly/4qJALBq

12/09/2025

-: "Libraries as Builders of Peace: Fostering Understanding through Access, Dialogue, and Knowledge", Dec. 10, 12:00pm ET.
Registration page:

Libraries contribute to building a more peaceful world by fostering learning, understanding, and connection. As Peter Johan Lor has written, libraries are not only repositories of knowledge but active agents for peace and justice—places where access to information, dialogue, and inclusion help peo...

08/06/2024

The American Library Association (ALA) Committee on Accreditation has granted accreditation the University College London’s MA Library and Information Studies program. This is the first time ALA has granted accreditation to a program outside North America. https://shorturl.at/nxof7

05/17/2024

The ALA IRC United Nations SDGs Subcommittee presents, "Generative AI Supercharging the Mission of Libraries: Risks and Opportunities" webinar, Tuesday, May 21st, 2:00pm ET.

Registration link:

The ALA UN IRC SDGs Subcommittee is presenting an online event in the days before AI for Good Global Summit, an event by the UN International Telecommunication Union (ITU) – the UN specialized agency for information and communication technology. This event was highlighted by IFLA as an opportunity...

09/21/2023

Recording is now available: https://tinyurl.com/m3f8j9wd

Learn more about the challenges and opportunities related to library services to indigenous populations in different parts of the world at this virtual event from ALA's UN Subcommittee and IFLA's Indigenous Matter Section. This webinar will be moderated by Loida Garcia-Febo, Past ALA President.

08/07/2023

2023 International Innovators: The winning entries for this year's ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects are the National Central Library in Taipei City, Taiwan, and South Korea's Seoul National University Library https://bit.ly/AL-Intl23 (via American Libraries)

Libraries from Taiwan and South Korea earned this year’s ALA Presidential Citation for Innovative International Library Projects.