#alaac25 Conference Blogging

The 2025 Annual Conference – #alaac25 – is on! Are you unable to attend and wondering how you can keep up with all that’s going on at this year’s American Library Association conference? We’ve got you covered!

Let me be among the first to offer special thanks to the conference bloggers who will be reporting for the ALSC Blog on what’s happening at this summer conference held in Philadelphia. Here are some of the people who will be writing about their experiences:

Alicia Rogers (she/her/hers) is the Tween Services Librarian at Worcester Public Library–the library’s first! She hosts programs and builds collections for children ages eight to twelve in the children’s center and provides reference and reader’s advisory service in the library’s teen room to ease patrons’ transition between the spaces. Through her work, she strives to build community among the tween patrons who are craving some independence. Alicia is a member of ALSC and the Notable Children’s Book Committee and reviews for Booklist, The Horn Book, Library Journal, and School Library Journal. She loves books of all kinds (can you tell?), so is most looking forward to meeting and hearing from authors at the conference.

Arlene Laverde (she/her/hers) is an adjunct and academic advisor in the Graduate School of Library and Information Studies Program at Queens College, CUNY, where she prepares future school librarians for school library life. She has a strong background in education and librarianship, and brings real-world experience and a passion for intellectual freedom, equity, and access to her teaching. She retired from her full time school librarian job in the summer of 2024 And is now focusing on a variety of library passions: children’s books, information freedom, and advocacy. She is looking forward to hearing George Takei and attending the Newbery/Caldecott Reception. Her life isn’t all about libraries though, she has been married for over 32 years and has two grown sons.

Anna Melvin (she/they) is a children’s librarian at the Cleveland Park Library in Washington, D.C. She is originally from the Philadelphia suburbs, and is happy to head home for this year’s conference to where her love for libraries began. As an elementary school student, Anna used to come in early to help her school librarian reshelve books and to discuss their most recent reads. This is her third time attending ALA, but her first working at the Zine Pavilion. She is very excited to be able to volunteer this year, and hopes to be able to connect with a larger range of library professionals while working at the Pavilion. Anna is most looking forward to this year’s conference because at the conclusion, she will begin a two-year term serving on the Library Service to Underserved Youth and Their Caregivers Committee. Anna is also eagerly anticipating attending sessions on serving patrons with disabilities, expanding her at-home library with some great reads from this year’s conference, and fan-girling over Geena Davis. Come say hi to Anna at the Zine Pavillion, or at the ALSC Membership Meeting! 

Desireé Sotomayor (she/her) is a Teen Librarian for the Central Library of Denver Public Library, and has been passionate about library youth library service ever since her AmeriCorps National Service term working with the Reach Out and Read program in Sunset Park, Brooklyn 19 years ago. She has a Masters in Library and Information Studies from the University of Oklahoma, served on the ALSC National Institute Taskforce in 2024, and was chair of the Colorado Libraries for Early Literacy annual conference in 2021. She is passionate about innovation in community outreach and partnerships, and is excited to both learn more from & share her nearly two decades of experience with attendees at her first ALA annual conference.

Gavin Damore (he/his) is the Membership and Marketing Specialist for ALSC and YALSA. Gavin has worked in nonprofit marketing and communications since 2015 in a variety of industries including performing arts, parks and recreation, and libraries. He holds a B.A. in English from Stonehill College and a M.S. in Public Relations from Boston University.

Kelly Depin is a member of the 2025 Newbery committee and is looking forward to giving you a look at some of the invited events attached to the award winning authors.  She has been a librarian for over 20 years and looks forward to being found someday as part of some unique children’s or adult programming

Kelley Taksier (they/them/theirs) is a former classroom teacher pursuing a Ph.D in special education at the University of Florida. Currently their research focuses on students’ access to texts in public schools. As a part of this work, they collaborate with school and public librarians. They are proud to be a part of Diverse BookFinder’s third Community of Practice cohort and enjoy reading science fiction outside of the reading they do as a part of their work. As for #alaac25, they are most looking forward to learning about how to be a better advocate for libraries. 

Maria Paz Alegre (she/her/hers) is happily based in New York City where she works as a culture writer and as the elementary school librarian at the Allen-Stevenson School. When she’s not in the library, classroom or stage, she enjoys presenting and creating workshops for national and regional education conferences centered around creating diverse, equitable and inclusive curriculum. As a librarian, she served on the EELDM Committee (2020 & 2021) as well as the 2024 Randolph Caldecott Award Committee. She is a proud and longtime member of ALSC and APALA where she has volunteered as a mentor to up-and-coming librarians at both organizations. She has a soft spot for Philadelphia and can’t wait to hit up Reading Terminal for a pretzel, pork roll and water ice!

Mary R. Voors (she/her) is the ALSC Blog Manager. She loves reading picture books, early chapter books, YA fiction & nonfiction, and the occasional book written for adults. Mary has served on a wide variety of ALSC committees including the Newbery committee, the ALSC International Relations committee, the Great Web Sites committee (chair), the BWI Summer Reading Program Grant committee, the Notable Children’s Books committee, the Intellectual Freedom committee, the ALSC Board of Directors, and the Odyssey committee. She is currently serving on the Children’s Literature Lecture Award committee.

Patty Gonzales Ramirez (she/her/hers) is the Retired Public Services Manager with the Dallas Public library and a beginner podcaster. She is most looking forward to the Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet. As a 2025 Caldecott committee member she plans to reconnect some great friendships! Patty has always wanted to be a librarian and has been able to live that dream! Her favorite book has consistently been “To Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee; it is very reminiscent of her childhood in the Jim Crow South. As a new and learning podcaster, she hopes to share her love of books and library experiences.

Sarah Sansbury (she/her/hers) is an elementary school teacher-librarian from Atlanta, Georgia. She recently finished her doctorate in school improvement with a focus on how school librarians contribute to student achievement. She is eager to learn how to better partner with local public librarians so that her students can benefit from all the community resources available to them. At the conference, one will most likely find her drinking coffee, no matter the time of day. You can follow her on BlueSky and Instagram: @supersansbury.

William Stieglitz (he/him/his) is a children’s book author with Paw Prints Publishing who also writes local journalism. This will be his first year attending ALA Annual, where he will be an EMIERT AuthorFest panelist. His upcoming early-readers, the Rachel and Abby books, center on two Jewish-American sisters as they solve the mysteries of the adult world, and take inspiration from how his own family, while celebrating Judaism in many different ways, would find the most meaning in the time they spent together. He is looking forward to meeting with and hearing the stories of others at the conference, and especially values how librarians work both to educate and to create an environment that really is for everyone.

Thank you all! I can’t read to read about what you are learning and experiencing!

Over the next several days, check the ALSC Blog for ALA Annual Conference photos and information. You can also check in on social media – just track the hashtag #alaac25. Are you hoping we’ll cover a particular session? Let us know in the comments below!

The post #alaac25 Conference Blogging appeared first on ALSC Blog.

 The 2025 Annual Conference – #alaac25 – is on! Are you unable to attend and wondering how you can keep up with all that’s going on at this year’s American Library Association conference? We’ve got you covered! Let me be among the first to offer special thanks to the conference bloggers who will be reporting for the ALSC Blog on what’s happening at this summer conference held in Philadelphia. Here are some of the people who will be writing about their experiences: Alicia Rogers (she/her/hers) is the Tween Services Librarian at Worcester Public Library–the library’s first! She hosts programs and builds collections for children ages eight to twelve in the children’s center and provides reference and reader’s advisory service in the library’s teen room to ease patrons’ transition between the spaces. Through her work, she strives to build community among the tween patrons who are craving some independence. Alicia is a…
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