Public Policy and Advocacy

The American Library Association's Public Policy and Advocacy office was established in 1945 to represent libraries on Capitol Hill. Read more about our nearly 75 years of history here.

ALA's advocacy and public policy staff work to secure information technology policies that support and encourage efforts of libraries to ensure access to electronic information resources as a means of upholding the public’s right to a free and open information society. Staff work to ensure a library voice in information policy debates and to promote full and equitable intellectual participation by the public by:

The Public Policy and Advocacy team is charged with following and influencing legislation, policy, and regulatory issues of importance to the library field and its public and works to ensure that libraries are consistently involved in the legislative and policy decision-making processes by: