By: J.D. Ross
(315) 443-3094
Sari Feldman, executive director of Ohio's Cuyahoga County Public Library, has been elected as president of the American Library Association (ALA) for the 2015-16 term. The current ALA president is School of Information Studies (iSchool) faculty member Barbara Stripling.
Feldman served as an adjunct faculty member at the iSchool from 1984 to 2006. She taught courses IST 500 (New Directions in Public Libraries); IST 512 (Information Services and Resources); IST 600 (Grant Writing); IST 612 (Youth Services); IST 640 (Libraries: Governance, Organization and Policies); and IST 750 (Adult Services).
As president, Feldman will lead the oldest and largest library association in the world. She will serve as president-elect for one year before taking over as president at the end of the 2015 ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco.
“I am deeply honored to be given the opportunity to serve libraries and library professionals as president of the American Library Association,” Feldman said in a statement released by the ALA. “I look forward to continuing the leadership commitment of current president Barbara Stripling and president-elect Courtney Young to support advocacy for all libraries by strengthening our ability to speak with a unified voice.”
Stripling will step down from the presidency at the conclusion of ALA's 2014 annual meeting in Las Vegas in June.