Happy May, all!
It’s almost time for ALA Annual, and that means lots of things are happening, including the final sprint toward reunification. The close of ALA Annual marks the end of our reunification transition year, in many ways. In terms of governance and organizational structure, the unified division will be officially in place effective June 30, 2026, and the second year of transition work under a unified Board will begin.
ALSC and YALSA members will have a lot of opportunities to come together at this year’s Annual Conference for connection and celebration. This includes a joint ALSC/YALSA membership meeting this year, so please join us for that! These opportunities for engagement will help inform the next year of work for the Board and staff. Along with these opportunities for connection and feedback, there are of course many opportunities for celebration!
Here are a few of the bigger events, but you can find everything else, including lots of programming, keynote sessions, and lots more, by using the conference scheduler:
- Odyssey Awards [Saturday @ 11am]
- ALSC/YALSA 101 [Saturday @ 1pm]
- Printz Celebration [Saturday @ 8pm]
- CSK Awards [Sunday @ 7am]
- YALSA Awards and Coffee Klatch [Sunday @ 9am]
- Pura Belpré Celebracion [Sunday @ 1pm]
- Newbery-Caldecott-Legacy Banquet [Sunday @ 6pm]
- ALSC Awards [Monday @ 8am]
- Joint Membership Meeting [Monday @ 10:30am]
At the conclusion of the ALA Annual Conference, a few changes will take place. Here is a high level overview of some of the bigger things, but you can find more detail by watching the recording of our second Town Hall which took place virtually on April 16:
- The new unified Board will be taking the reins and making decisions over the coming year about strategic planning, updating policy and bylaws, and starting the rebranding process.
- Changes to process committees will take effect, with some new names, updated charges, and increased rosters. This is a complex process, and we know there will likely be a few hiccups along the way, so please bear with us as we work through everything.
- Some changes to existing publications will begin, meaning that we will be having some less formal venues for articles over the next year as we work to create the new, combined publication that will cover both children’s and teen services content.
During these final months leading up to reunification, we have heard a number of questions arise related to membership renewal. And, adding a bit of confusion—the messaging on the shopping cart interface during the ALA membership/renewal process does not currently reference the ALSC/YALSA reunification. In order to help provide you all with a bit more clarity, the following renewal options may be considered:
- YALSA members who are due to renew between now and August 31 may choose to renew their YALSA membership or join ALSC.
- Members holding both YALSA and ALSC memberships may choose to renew one or both; either option provides access to needed resources.
All YALSA memberships, as of September 1, 2026, will transfer to ALSC memberships. (Note that although memberships will be under the ALSC brand for the next year or so, this is only until such time as the division rebranding process is complete and a new name is rolled out as approved by members). Membership rates are available on ALA’s website.
As a reminder to everyone, there is a new ALSC & YALSA Reunification website that includes upcoming events, resources, a feed of blog posts and other communications, and links to ALSC and YALSA FAQ pages.
We are so incredibly grateful for all of you, our members. Your questions, feedback, and participation in our surveys, town halls, and other engagement opportunities has helped immensely in the reunification process, informing many big decisions over the last year, especially relating to the reorganization of our process committees. We look forward to continuing our engagement with all of you over the next year as we begin the process of strategic planning and rebranding!
As always, if you have questions or comments for us, please feel free to reach out to the ALSC or YALSA President or Board members. You can also submit your questions via ALA Connect.
As always… Onwards!
Rob Bittner
Co-Chair, Reunification Working Group
ALSC Past-President