Clearing the Hold Shelf before we open. It’s amazing that 721 items have been already reserved and processed for pick up for the week! Excited to connect folks with materials and information! #mondaymotivation

Here are three #ialegis bills harmful to library communities to contact your local representatives about this week. #keeplibrarieslocal

Excited to work in such a beautiful space with the @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social Executive Board and staff over this chilly but very productive winter weekend in Chicago. #YouthMediaAwards #FreePeopleReadFreely

Your story matters. ALA President @samhelmick.bsky.social demonstrates how sharing your work and your achievements is a critical act of library advocacy. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2026/01/02/your-library-story/

Thank you, @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social Executive Director, Dan Montgomery, for addressing the Iowa City Public Library staff during our InService Day. Thank you for the inspiring conversation & reminder that we serve communities well by providing access to opportunity, literacy, and learning. 📚 💜

Our guest this week was American Library Association (@amlibraryassoc.bsky.social) President Sam Helmick (@samhelmick.bsky.social). They work so very hard for libraries and librarians!

Our guest this week on Book Flood Podcast is ALA (@amlibraryassoc.bsky.social) President @samhelmick.bsky.social. We discuss ALA, book banning, advocacy, and more! bookfloodpodcast.com

Soliciting prayers and petitions for safe travels! Headed to the Guadalajara International Book Fair a little early in hopes of beating the winter weather. #travel #faith #grateful ✈️ ❄️ 📚

Excited to connect with information science & library students (who can attend for free) and the rest of my colleagues at this learning and networking event! It’s quite wonderful to belong to such a diverse and incredible community of practice and mutual support!! #LibraryLife #AlwaysLearning

Headed home from the @ncacensorship.bsky.social gala feeling inspired and resilient as well as encouraged by how many folks are engaged in ensuring #FreePeopleReadFreely. #hopeful #LibraryLife #travel

ALA President @samhelmick.bsky.social highlights how ALA chapters are "our first indicators of new trends, the tightening pressure on legislative challenges, and the steady rhythm of community needs." https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2025/11/03/the-pulse-of-our-profession/

@samhelmick.bsky.social is the real deal! Join this call and you will be inspired, enlightened, and delighted!

Enjoyed the moon and some Minnie Riperton this morning as I walked and gathered some thought bunnies. #SundayMorning

Enjoyed a lovely drive to Des Moines and headed to the Brooklyn Public Library to celebrate #IntellectualFreedom and #FreePeopleReadFreely during an evening with the great @georgetakei.bsky.social. Soliciting petitions and prayers for smooth and safe travels!! ☕️ 📚 Let’s do some good! #Freadom

Discover how you can create literary freedom that helps LGBTQ+ youth feel safe, seen, and valued with Featured speakers PFLAG National CEO Brian Bond, “Red, White, and Royal Blue” author Casey McQuiston, ALA President @samhelmick.bsky.social, and education reporter Nadra Kareem Nittle.

Headed to the Library of Congress for a terminology workshop this week! Not enough time for coffee but got some emails out. ☕️ 💻 Soliciting good thoughts, petitions, and prayers for travel mercies please. 💜 ✈️ #AlwaysLearning #Grateful #Blessed

Passing a cozy afternoon in a comfy sweater, with a cup of coffee, and a stack of comics. #HappyMaking #AmReading

Grateful for the fellowship with @raushenbush.bsky.social on State of Belief podcast to explore freedom, faith, libraries, and #LibraryCardSignUpMonth. 💜 religionnews.com/2025/09/13/l... #ShowUpForOurLibraries

Absolutely loved connecting with neighbors and new friends tonight at Tiny Art Show through the North Liberty Library! Started with a miniature self portrait on a Post It note, but couldn’t figure out a good way to transfer it, so doodled a more simplistic self portrait instead. 🖼️ 🐿️ 🎨 📚

Volunteering a bit this morning at the #NatBookFest between library visits and meetups. It’s amazing to connect with the amazing folks who love to read and gift time and energy into this incredible event. #ReadersAreLeaders

"When we treat libraries as communities rather than commodities, we serve with love and respect, ensuring they remain strong, welcoming, and sustainable for all."

Libraries belong at #SXSW. Voting is open through August 24. Cast your vote for these library-themed panels today. 📚💙

Catching up on some Harvard Business Review before my #SaturdayLibrarian shift. ☕️ 📚 #alwayslearning #saturdaymorning

Oh! We have lots of lovely library panels to pick for SXSW this year! participate.sxsw.com/flow/sxsw/sx... Time to #RockTheVote! 🗳️

Thank you @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social Staff for letting me borrow office space while I’m in DC this week. It was joyful to share croissants, record for TikTok, and be where such great work is happening on behalf of membership & the communities libraries serve. #ShowUpForOurLibraries #happymaking

My heart is filled with hope and my course more determined after an uplifting night listening and learning from Dr. Carla Hayden and Stacey Abrams with @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social Public Policy and Advocacy Office Associate Executive Director, Lisa Varga.

Watch party!!!!!

Do all things with a spirit of encouragement, a heart full of love, and a hope that does not fade—believing always that your striving can stir the world toward good. There are so many wonderful people in the world —many giving their time and talents to libraries and the communities served by them.

New in @amlibraries.bsky.social: What's the current state of play for federal library funding? ALA's Kevin Maher breaks down the latest news and developments, including the appropriations process, IMLS authorization, and more: americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-sc... #ForOurLibraries

Treadmill at moderate speed? ✅ Great walking tunes? ✅ Engaging reading material? ✅ Reading, music, and movement are good for the body and mind. What’s your self care of choice today? #MidWeekMotivation #AmReading #HappyMaking

Excited to catch the last day of Snake Alley Festival of Film! Lots of wonderful and thought provoking submissions this year. #HomeForTheWeekend #snakealleyfestivaloffilm

Blueberry Pie Oreos are back and honestly? New Oreo flavor day should be a national holiday. Willpower: zero. Joy: maximum. 🫐 🥧 🍪 #Oreo #HappyMaking

Honored to serve as @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social President, to share our stories, and to #ShowUpForOurLibraries with you all!

Knocking out a few important phone calls before we head back to Iowa from the @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social #ALAAC25! Safe and happy travels home, everyone! Solicitations for travel mercy prayer and petition. 🍌 💜 📚 ✈️

Rocking a morning walk and some coffee before @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social Council Orientation. Are we ready to Show Up for Libraries today, #ALAAC25?

✅ packed for #ALAAC25 ✅ reviewed and approved timesheets ✅ little time for l breakfast and a devotional Hoping everyone has a blessed start to their week! Rooting for you and the paths youll illuminate for others though your care, diligence, and love!

Visiting OBA Amsterdam has been a longstanding dream! 🇳🇱 📚 💜 Beyond delighted to chat over lunch with Director Berendse about their excellent collections and services for the People as well ad the history and core values of librarianship in the Netherlands. #AlwaysLearning #LibraryLife

💕Le mur des je t’aime!! 💕 Frédéric Baron and Claire Kito’s wall is composed of 612 tiles of enamelled lava, on which the phrase ‘I love you’ is featured 311 times in 250 languages!

Spent the day at the airport catching up on emails and drafting a few speeches. Thrilled to connect with library workers in France and to represent American Library Association at their 70th Library Congress. Soliciting prayers and good thoughts for travel mercies and rest along the way. 💜

Last Canadian #coffeeselfie for a while. 🇨🇦 ☕️ 🍁 Representing the @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social at @torontocomics.bsky.social was an absolute best. Connecting with my Neighbors to the North over comics, literacy, and libraries was good for my 🧠 and 💜. #LibraryLife #AlwaysLearning #HappyMaking

First #coffeeselfie of my 39th year. Celebrated my birthday by sharing and learning about storytelling and advocating for our communities with Lake Superior Libraries folks! Excited to see old friends. Delighted to make new ones too. #OurStoriesAreWorthSharing #LibraryLife #grateful

“As a former children’s librarian, I can tell you firsthand about parents who cannot afford vacation during the summer,” Helmick said. “So, the public library and its summer reading program become that for them.” www.kcrg.com/2025/06/02/t...

Found what I believe is the mystic spire variety of Silvia plant this afternoon on my walk. Quite pretty and rife for a tiny bit of #poetry. #walking #lunchbreak

Thankful to Robert Newlen for his decades long dedication to public service and for lovely time together during such a busy and impactful season in his life to connect over our shared loves of literacy, learning, librarianship, and democracy. 💜 #librarylife #humbled #happymaking

The piece challenges conventional wisdom by distinguishing between decentralization (spreading out authority) & distribution (spreading out decision-making). Rethinking how orgs can be more resilient + responsive. This Lebanese fried rice is good too! #brunch journals.sagepub.com/doi/epdf/10....

New faces and places always fill me with a quiet delight. Waking up with my first #coffeeselfie on the trip and a tired, mild draft of a poem. #happymaking #travel

9 years ago I met Dr. Hayden at @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social Midwinter in Atlanta. It was meaningful + momentous + inspirational to briefly talk with her and learn. I’m in Atlanta again touring libraries and hearing wonderful stories about her impact on our field and our nation everywhere I go. 💜

Grateful to get an office amble in while drafting my speech for the University of Iowa Graduate School of Library & Information Science 2025 Pinning Ceremony this morning. #TuesdayMotivation #LibraryLife #HappyMaking

Chicago wakes in April hush, Mist clings low where tulips blush. Lake Michigan is a silver sheet. Sidewalks echo quiet feet. Above, the el trains hum and drift. Sunrise paints each glassy lift. The city, slow and almost bright, Holds its breath in morning’s height. #Chicago #SundayMorning

Delighted to start a day with a walk to Lake Michigan with some Executive Board peeps and then celebrate together at the @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social Staff Recognition! #HappyMaking