The Alabama Library Association

The Alabama Library Association (ALLA) is a non-profit corporation formed to encourage and promote the welfare of libraries and professional interests of librarians in the State of Alabama. The Mission of the Alabama Library Association is to provide leadership for the development, advocacy, and improvement of library and information services and to promote the profession of librarianship, in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.

From the President

WELCOME MEMBERS, PROSPECTIVE MEMBERS AND FRIENDS

Greetings members of the Alabama Library Association! I am so honored to serve as your 2018-2019 President and I look forward to working not only with the association’s executive council, but with all the librarians across our wonderful state. In case we have never met, let me introduce myself. I graduated from the University of the South in 1998 and received my MLIS from the School of Library and Information Studies at The University of Alabama in 1999. Since graduating, I have worked solely at the amazing Hoover Public Library, first as a temp employee, then as an assistant in the Technology Department and, since 2003, as the Technology Coordinator. I chaired the ALLA Convention Committee in 2012 and have served as a Member-at-Large, Central, as well as the Chair-Elect of the Public Library Division and Chair of the Alabama Authors Awards Committee.

As we look forward to this year, I want to focus on keeping libraries as their patron’s Third Place, the place they go when they are not at home, at work or in the classroom. Whether it be a school, a public or an academic library, we want our patrons to make their library an essential part of their daily lives. We are more than just a repository of books; we are community leaders, educators, entertainers and servants. I will admit that I was not a library user growing up; I had a reading disability that made reading a chore and not fun at all. Now, I know that libraries are so much more than just books. I am amazed when I hear about what our Alabama libraries are doing for their communities.

Please let me know how I and the Alabama Library Association can help your library and community. And, mark your calendars for the 2019 convention, April 2-5 at the Grand Hotel in Point Clear, Alabama!

Sincerely,

Carrie Steinmehl
Alabama Library Association
President, 2018-2019