From (ALA) — The American Library Association (ALA) announced today that Tracie D. Hall will resign from her role as executive director following nearly four transformative years at the Association. Her last day of service, Friday, October 6.

During her tenure, Hall brought ALA greater public recognition, private funding, media visibility, and key partnerships. Upon her departure, she leaves behind a string of key accomplishments, including advancing the Association’s work in the areas of accessibility, adult and family literacy, arts access, broadband access, digital inclusion, library services for people who are incarcerated and reentering communities after incarceration, and intellectual freedom and the right to read.

For her work in service to libraries and the public, Hall received numerous accolades, bringing a heightened level of national attention, awareness and support to ALA and its mission. In 2022, Hall became the second librarian to be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Book Foundation. This year, she was named a Beacon Award winner by Illinois Humanities for her contributions to the arts and humanities in the state. Hall was also named the 2023 recipient of the Literacy Leader Award by scaleLIT, a Chicago-based literacy advocacy organization, and shortly after, TIME Magazine named Hall to the TIME100, its annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. The Franklin D. Roosevelt Institute selected Hall as the 2023 recipient of its Freedom of Speech and Expression medal, an honor previously awarded to Rep. John Lewis and journalists, Dan Rather and Nikole Hannah-Jones.

ALA will name an interim executive director in the coming weeks as it prepares to begin a robust, nationwide search for a successor who will continue to uphold the Association’s core values, advance its longstanding mission, and provide strong leadership.