Chapter & Verse: Storytime from the Stacks New Episode

Check out the latest episode of Chapter & Verse, Creating Safe Spaces: Outreach Inclusion and the Modern Library. In this episode, hosts Debbie Mikula, Executive Director of MLA, and Mallorie DeVilbiss, Director of the Suburban Library Cooperative, talk with Olivia Olson, Head of Community Engagement at the Troy Public Library.

Olivia reflects on her early love of libraries and the path that led her into library work. She shares how the community engagement department came to life and how programs like the bookmobile and the English Language Learners Book Club are expanding the library’s reach.

From serving diverse communities to creating safe, welcoming spaces, Olivia offers insight into the evolving role of libraries and the powerful connections they foster. Her stories of working with patrons and her vision for the future remind us why libraries remain essential pillars of community life.

ALA Defends ERate at Supreme Court

On Wednesday, March 26, oral arguments began in the U.S. Supreme Court case brought by Consumers’ Research, which argues that the Universal Service Fund—the mechanism supporting E-Rate—is unconstitutional. E-Rate is the program that provides affordable broadband to schools and libraries nationwide for nearly three decades. Listen to the arguments. Learn more

Read the brief for the American Library Association as Amicus Curiae in Support of Petitioners: Federal Communications Commission v. Consumer’s Research