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SAN DIEGO – More than 13,500 attendees gathered in San Diego, CA, for the largest library event in the world. The ¾«¶«´«Ã½Annual Conference and Exhibition took place at the San Diego Convention Center from June 28 to July 2.

Total attendance was 13,532, with 8,439 of them being attendees and 5,093 being exhibitors, authors, illustrators, press and staff.

Against a backdrop of increasing censorship and book challenges, library workers learned from each other and supported each other through the 175 educational programs throughout the conference.

The conference opened with Emmy- and Peabody Award-winning host Trevor Noah and ¾«¶«´«Ã½Past President Lessa Kanani’opua Peyalo-Lozada in conversation discussing Noah’s upcoming book, “Into the Uncut Grass.”

¾«¶«´«Ã½and Unite Against Book Bans hosted a second Rally for the Right to Read which spotlighted the courage and resilience of library workers who are protecting the freedom to read.

During the president’s program called “The Heart of Our Story: A Celebration of Library Workers, Outgoing President Emily Drabinski facilitated a panel where four library workers shared stories of community service and what motivates them. Drabinski also shared a short clip of an upcoming film which documented her “Road to Annual” tour in which Drabinski toured the country in June to highlight the contributions of American libraries to their communities.

Tony Award winning actress and singer Anika Noni Rose closed the conference with a discussion of her debut picture book “Tiana’s Perfect Plan.” Rose voiced Disney Princess Tiana from the film
“The Princess and the Frog.”

Incoming President Cindy Hohl was inaugurated on last day of conference and unveiled her theme for her presidential year, “A Good Way for ALA,” which will focus on four main pillars of librarianship: intellectual freedom, literacy, learning and leadership.

¾«¶«´«Ã½is now preparing for LibLearnX 2025 which will be held Jan. 24- 27 in Phoenix. Next year’s ¾«¶«´«Ã½Annual will take place in Philadelphia.

About the ¾«¶«´«Ã½
The ¾«¶«´«Ã½ (ALA) is the foremost national organization providing resources to inspire library and information professionals to transform their communities through essential programs and services. For more than 140 years, the ¾«¶«´«Ã½has been the trusted voice for academic, public, school, government and special libraries, advocating for the profession and the library’s role in enhancing learning and ensuring access to information for all. For more information, visit