My last regular youth programming was about 15 years ago. I can hardly share how excited and honored I am to temporarily step into this program series for the Iowa City Public Library Childrens Department! Wish me well please! #LibraryLife ✍️ 🖼️ 💜 📚

I'm doing a thing. Opening up my #thoughtbunnies substack for subscriptions with the plan to use any proceeds to publish my first book of poetry. #nervous #excited #amwriting thoughtbunnies.substack.com

Turns out one of the perks of being an adult is after your leave the gym, you can have animal crackers for dinner and call it “recovery nutrition.” 🦁🐘🐒 I don’t make the rules, I just abide by them. #adulting #dinnertime

This third #SundayLibrarian shift in a row is brought to you by copious amounts of coffee and much Back to School Joy! #LibraryLife

Its little tail swivels back and forth! Friends, I hope something small and unexpected brings you incalculable joy today too. #SundayMorning #LEGOlife #buttercow

Thank you, Carter! I’m excited to assemble this #IowaStateFair exclusive LEGO Butter Cow!! Appreciate all my lovely friends who offered to grab one of these for me before they sold out! #HappyMaking #humbled #buttercow 🧱 🧈 🐄 🌽

Thank you, Lone Tree Community School! The Iowa City Public Library and Iowa City Public Library Friends Foundation loved welcoming your students Back-to-School and supporting their success with homework help and literacy resources! #BackToSchool #LibraryLife

While I'll be unable to join my colleagues in Bengaluru, I am beyond humbled and honored to deliver the S. R. Ranganathan Memorial Lecture virtually to the 2026 International Conference on Knowledge Organization and Library Information this year! #ickolis2026

This! Tyranny is often disguised as protection.

Leila Green Little@ifightforbooks.bsky.social · last wk.

Listening to Lois Lowry’s “The Giver” on audiobook. Was struck this morning by this exchange, less than 24 hours after our lieutenant governor’s press conference demanding book censorship. “We really have to protect people from wrong choices.” “Yes, safer that way,” said the Giver.

Starting the week with an #IntellectualFreedom presentation with @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social and @libraryfutures.bsky.social LibraryFutures dropped a third scenario TODAY!!! Check out The Pickle of the Persistent Press Hound at: imagineif.libraryfutures.net

Friends! *jumps up and down giddily* There are some many incredible local poets! I heard so much amazing art tonight and my heart is cracked open to the world in a new and exciting way tonight. Oh, and I read three poems and everyone was so welcoming and kind!! 🫰🫰🫰🫰🫰 #poetry #art #humbled

Super jazzed to be trying this tonight. Not sure which of my poems to read yet but thinking 2-3 covering different topics and forms. #poetry #TheSpokenPint #amreading

Des Moines/Iowa Friends! I work through the 10 days of the Iowa State Fair this year but am hoping one of you might grab a LEGO Butter Cow for me? It’s my mission to obtain one of these glorious exclusives! I’d be delighted to provide escrow/finder fees for anyone who could hook me up. 🧈 🧱 🐄 🌽

There's still time to register for Tools for Intellectual Freedom Training (Monday 8/17). Learn some stuff AND play a bit of the Pickle of the Persistent Press Hound with our own @librariansreed.bsky.social, @littlewow.online, and @samhelmick.bsky.social! elearning.ala.org/local/catalo...

Rocking a #nightbrarian shift on the Iowa City Public Library Help Desk with a shiny, new RFID pad! Let’s answer some questions, make some community connections, and check out some stories and knowledge! #LibraryLife

I'm privileged to keynote this year's @ulunyc.bsky.social Conference: Still Standing. I am looking forward to a deeply relevant and resonant time together. #resilience #librarylife #alwayslearning

Urban Librarians Unite@ulunyc.bsky.social · 4w ago

Registration is open for the 2026 Urban Librarians Conference, which will convene in Brooklyn on 9/18! Get your tickets here: urbanlibrariansunite.org/conference/r...

The #alaac26 closing session featured a panel of ALA leaders discussing the current state of intellectual freedom, where it’s headed, and how to connect it to our other freedoms and to democracy. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/joy-as-an-act-of-resistance/

Joy as an Act of Resistance | American Libraries Magazine

With intertwining milestone anniversaries—the nation’s 250th and ALA’s 150th—ALA leaders discussed intellectual freedom and democracy.

americanlibrariesmagazine.org

National Voter Registration Day is almost here: Is your library #ReaderVoterReady? Check out our ideas for resources, programming, and more! Register your library as an NVRD partner: bit.ly/ALA-NVRD26 More resources: https://www.ala.org/advocacy/initiatives/reader-voter-ready

"People often ask me how we keep going. The truth? We don't stop needing encouragement when we become leaders." My #thoughtbunnies on The Cost of Caring: Why Leaders Burn Out and How We Stay Whole. thoughtbunnies.substack.com/p/the-cost-o... #leadership #selfcare

Leisure reading is beneficial because it allows the brain to "decompress" by absorbing information that isn't tied to a particular purpose, said Sam Helmick, president of the American Library Association. https://cnn.it/4ocSwJO

Meeting so very many amazing Illinois library workers from the Pinnacle Library Cooperative! #PinCon26 #LibraryLife #HappyMaking

Thanks for telling our federal representatives that we are not interested in a national book banning bill. This era of censorship and government overreach is scary and relentless and not at all addressing the needs of Americans. #FreePeopleReadFreely

American Library Association@amlibraryassoc.bsky.social · 4w ago

A new federal book banning bill is under consideration in the Senate. But library advocates are making our voices head. The right to read is too important to stay silent. Tell your Senators to reject S4925: https://www.action.ala.org/campaign/S4925

Hey Friends! The @sxsw.com EDU Panel Picker is up and I'm kindly asking folks to vote for my panel "Beyond the Scroll: Teaching News Literacy in the Content Age" You can learn more (AND VOTE) here: sxswedu.com/panelpicker/ #SXSWedu

One of my favorite things about working in a college town is the opportunities it affords me to listen and encourage and dispense hope on members of a new generation filling up with amazing community builders, literacy advocates, and library workers. #happymaking #mentorship #librarylife

Thank you, librarians and library workers, for the opportunity to represent your care, expertise and impact to the communities we serve as @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social president. It has been the privilege of a lifetime. #OurStoriesAreWorthSharing #FreePeopleReadFreely

"I know firsthand what we’re protecting. I know who I’m protecting. And it makes me feel quite happy and validated to restore what belongs to them.” - Sam Helmick, Iowa City Public Library @samhelmick.bsky.social @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social #NEH

KTIV News 4@ktiv.com · 2mo ago

A judge ruled DOGE’s arts cuts were unconstitutional. Iowa libraries are still hopeful the funding will come back Read More >>> https://www.ktiv.com/2026/06/19/judge-ruled-doges-arts-cuts-were-unconstitutional-iowa-libraries-are-still-hopeful-funding-will-come-back/ 

"After years of navigating shifting landscapes, there is no substitute for the hand-to-hand knowledge exchanged among colleagues." ALA President @samhelmick.bsky.social looks ahead to #ALAAC26. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2026/06/01/sparking-a-new-era/

Sparking a New Era | American Libraries Magazine

ALA's Annual Conference and Exhibition returns to Chicago, and the 150th celebration signifies the momentum we carry into the next era.

americanlibrariesmagazine.org

Tune in to hear from @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social president @samhelmick.bsky.social! #alaac26 apple.co/4nVDIiJ

ALA President @samhelmick.bsky.social reflects on the Association's first 150 years, and looks forward to the next. https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2026/05/01/ala-at-150/

ALA at 150 | American Libraries Magazine

Libraries are not just buildings; they are the pulse of democracy, the heart of community, and the echo of our collective soul.

americanlibrariesmagazine.org

Great piece from @19thnews.org about the ongoing toll of censorship on librarians. Features @samhelmick.bsky.social and several librarians from across the country. 19thnews.org/2026/04/book...

Book bans and culture wars came for libraries. They’re still standing strong.

During National Library Week, librarians throughout the country fight for books, jobs and truth.

19thnews.org