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“New digital technologies are bringing changes that are much more rapid and comprehensive than in the past to the way we live, work, and interact with one another. The idea that the recent advancement in digital technologies has reached qualitatively distinct stage of digital revolution is becoming more widely accepted,” explained Bohyun Kim, chief technology officer and professor for the University of Rhode Island Libraries, Kingston, during the "New Technologies of the Fourth Industrial Revolution: AI, IoT, Robotics, and Beyond” on demand presentation at the American Library Association's 2021 Annual Conference.

The all-virtual format of the American Library Association (ALA) 2021 Annual conference, held June 23–29, meant new options for attendees who previously hadn’t been able to travel to the event, and also allowed ALA to put together an impressive roster of speakers.

The Council of the American Library Association (ALA), meeting virtually at the Annual Conference, chose to take more time to consider several key proposals. Most notably, while the resolution to review the core values and one to require round tables to have at least 150 members both passed, the more ambitious of the Forward Together Resolutions Working Group’s outputs, which would restructure the committees and Council itself, were not voted on. 

The Asian Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) President's Program at the 2021 American Library Association (ALA) Annual conference continued the theme of social justice prevalent in many of the conference offerings. The session’s title, Community Driven Justice in Our Work: Library and Archival Workers of Color Advocating for Self-Preservation, Solidarity, Change, and Justice in Communities, Workplace, and in the Profession at Large, proposed a wide cross-section of work; panelists kept the focus on their own advocacy efforts within their libraries.

During the American Library Association (ALA) Virtual Annual Meeting, Lauren Geiger, metadata librarian, and Emily D. Harrison, digital projects specialist, both from Mississippi State University Libraries, discussed how to ensure that accessibility in digital collections is not limited to discoverability.

“The importance of providing equal access to information and learning experiences is nothing new, yet we consistently find that digital resources and technologies fall short” of accessibility for patrons and students with print and other disabilities, Trisha Prevett, eLearning librarian for Southern New Hampshire University said to open the "Born Accessible: Creating Equal Digital Learning Experiences for All" panel at the American Library Association (ALA) 2021 Annual Conference and Exhibition, held virtually from June 23–29. “We must ensure that libraries are providing resources that are truly accessible for all.”

On June 27, during the American Library Association (ALA) Virtual Annual Meeting, over 100 attendees listened as a panel of experts spoke about an update on the development of a framework of cultural proficiencies for racial equity.

Staff and a student from the University of Maine discuss the creation of the Racial Justice Challenge subject guide, designed to provide a week-long, self-paced, learning experience.

The subject of the Association of College and Research Libraries President’s Program at the 2021 American Library Association Annual conference, Making Change: Organizing for Action While Caring for Each Other, on June 24, was a timely one for library workers keeping their advocacy energy up after a challenging year and a half. Speakers discussed taking community organizing approaches to the work of dismantling institutional racism, widening the circle to care for colleagues and community in the ways they need without burning out.