Dear APALA,
During Labor Day week this year, I participated in a fundraising bicycle ride to advocate for safe street infrastructure. The ride was approximately 400 miles over 5 days from Boston to Philadelphia to support the Boston Cyclists Union, a non-profit bicycle advocacy organization. Although this year was the inaugural year for this ride, I am no stranger to long distance bike riding as I have participated in its other fundraising bicycle ride from Boston to Montreal since 2021.
You may wonder what riding a bicycle to advocate for safe street infrastructure has to do with APALA. As the bike ride was a fundraiser, I have been thinking of various ways to fundraise for APALA to
maintain financial stability, promote APALA’s visibility, collaborate with sponsors, and strengthen relationships with donors. APALA is working on a fundraising plan that aims to do just that. I am grateful to Vice President Jamie Kurumaji for spearheading this effort.
Attending JCLC (Joint Conference of Librarians of Color) in Spokane reinvigorated my passion and dedication for APALA. I was honored to have met so many of you at JCLC, and I am humbled to be your president. As a longtime APALA member who has participated in APALA committees since library
school, I have seen how APALA has grown over the years with dedicated members who help shape our organization.
APALA has exciting programs and activities to look forward to this upcoming year. The mentoring committee is underway with matching its mentor and protégé pairs. The mentoring program matches experienced librarians with LIS students, early career librarians, and new library workers so they are set up for success. As a former mentoring committee member and mentor, I see the incredible value in mentoring and uplifting our rising leaders in the profession.
APALA is always looking for members to contribute to our organization and profession. If you want to be involved with APALA, I invite you to run for elected office by nominating yourself for the Executive Board when the call comes from Nominating Committee Chair and Immediate Past President Eileen K. Bosch.
Libraries and other organizations have experienced budget reductions. This unfortunate situation impacts whether our membership can participate in professional development events. Fortunately, APALA issues a number of awards to support our membership. I encourage you to review the available awards and apply.
While ALA Annual in New Orleans is several months away in June 2027, the program planning committee and I are busy planning the APALA President’s Program at ALA Annual. The program will focus on belonging at the library for newcomers to the United States. Stay tuned for more information as we get closer to ALA Annual.
I hope you are as excited as I am for the year ahead. My virtual door is open if you want to contact me to talk about all things APALA.
With gratitude,
Tina Chan (she/her)
APALA President