The 2020 ALA Annual Conference & Exhibition, scheduled for June 25-30 in Chicago, has been canceled. The American Library Association's executive board announced the decision yesterday, noting that this will mark the first time in 75 years ALA has not held an annual conference. The last cancellation took place in 1945 as World War II neared its end.
"ALA's priority is the health and safety of the library community, including our members, staff, supporters, vendors and volunteers," said Wanda K. Brown, ALA president. "As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, it's become clear that in the face of an unprecedented situation, we need to make tough choices.... I am so sorry that this difficult decision had to be made, but I am certain that it is the right one. One of our greatest strengths is our ability to adapt and reinvent ourselves when needed the most. May these challenging and uncertain times find us working even closer together so that our libraries, our communities, our association and our families will all thrive."
Tracie D. Hall, ALA executive director, commented: "We recognize the magnitude of this decision for the association and our membership. The Annual Conference brings together tens of thousands of passionate professionals and hundreds of authors and exhibitors every year to celebrate the transformative work of libraries across the country and around the world. Our coming together not only galvanizes the library and information profession and its stakeholders, but also provides opportunities for attendees to explore and connect with our host cities. This year, we were especially looking forward to the conference taking place in ALA's hometown of Chicago; however, the well-being of our library community, staff and fellow Chicago residents has to be the number one concern, and that drove our decision-making."
Julius C. Jefferson, Jr., ALA president-elect, agreed: "At this unprecedented and historic time the health and safety of our members and their families are our primary concern. I want us all to focus on our collective health so we may live to advocate for libraries and library workers another day."
ALA supporters EBSCO Information Services, Follett | Baker & Taylor, Gale, a Cengage Company, HarperCollins, OverDrive, Penguin Random House, ProQuest and Simon & Schuster offered words of support.
The association will be working with conference registrants directly over the coming weeks. In addition, ALA staff, in partnership with ALA member leaders, are developing plans to carry out the important business of the association, such as council and board meetings.
"Although this is a great disappointment, ALA is far from the only organization taking a hard look at its events," Hall said. "We are using this to fuel our planning for Midwinter conference in Indianapolis in January 2021 and look forward to Annual Conference 2021 scheduled to be held in Chicago. We want to make both of those meetings incredible experiences. We want them to serve as opportunities for the profession to regroup and recharge."