<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small">Hello colleagues!<br><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small">Many of you have probably seen President Obama's letter to libraries and library workers all over your social media feeds today, but just in case, let me share this message ALA President Emily Drabinski shared with ALA Council today:</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><br></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px">Dear ALA Colleagues,</p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"> </p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px">President Barack Obama published an <a href="https://barackobama.medium.com/thank-you-to-americas-librarians-for-protecting-our-freedom-to-read-80ce373608b3" title="https://barackobama.medium.com/thank-you-to-americas-librarians-for-protecting-our-freedom-to-read-80ce373608b3" target="_blank">open letter</a> to librarians this morning, expressing his support for libraries and library workers amidst rising book challenges and subsequent attacks on those defending the right to read. His letter was shared online and across his social media pages (in addition to the social media accounts for Michelle Obama and the Obama Foundation), with a note directing followers to the Unite Against Book Bans website and encouraging support for the campaign.</p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"> </p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px">See links to the social posts below.</p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"> </p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><b>President Obama:</b></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CuzKkVWuyQV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" title="https://www.instagram.com/p/CuzKkVWuyQV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" target="_blank">Instagram</a></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><a href="https://www.facebook.com/barackobama" title="https://www.facebook.com/barackobama" target="_blank">Facebook</a></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><a href="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1680927869021696005?s=20" title="https://twitter.com/BarackObama/status/1680927869021696005?s=20" target="_blank">Twitter</a></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"> </p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><b>The Obama Foundation:</b></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CuzPxosOUl1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" title="https://www.instagram.com/p/CuzPxosOUl1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==" target="_blank">Instagram</a></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><a href="https://twitter.com/ObamaFoundation/status/1680936603374563329?s=20" title="https://twitter.com/ObamaFoundation/status/1680936603374563329?s=20" target="_blank">Twitter</a></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"> </p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px">To ensure that the letter would reach its intended recipients, President Obama's team requested that we share the letter with the ALA community. You'll notice that the letter has been amplified across ALA's social media pages and shared via <i>American Libraries</i>: <a href="https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/open-letter-from-former-president-obama-supports-librarians/" title="https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/open-letter-from-former-president-obama-supports-librarians/" target="_blank">Open Letter from Former President Obama Supports Librarians | American Libraries Magazine</a></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"> </p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px">Also, ALA contributed to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/07/17/obama-banned-books-tiktok-library" title="https://www.washingtonpost.com/books/2023/07/17/obama-banned-books-tiktok-library" target="_blank">this exclusive story in the Washington Post</a> this morning, which highlights the recent increase in book bans/challenges and President Obama's efforts on social media (particularly, TikTok and Instagram) to bring awareness to the issue in hopes of rallying support for libraries and library workers.</p></div></blockquote><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><u></u><u></u></p></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"><br></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:14.3px"></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"></div><p></p><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small">If you haven't yet added your name to the United Against Book Bans site, I encourage you all to take a minute and do so!</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><br></div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small">Stephanie Chase</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small">Executive Director, Libraries of Eastern Oregon</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small">Founding Principal, Constructive Disruption</div><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small">ALA Executive Board, 2023-2026</div></div></div>