Ms. Hussain Elected President of Association for Library Service to Children

There is no doubt that Blake teachers do incredible things. Among these incredible things is that Ms. Ariana Hussain was elected President of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC), which is one of eight divisions of the American Library Association.

Ms. Hussain is excited to lead the division, wanting to “keep the vision afloat.” This will become an added challenge because the Young Adult Library Services Association is merging with the ALSC. This means that the division will serve teens as well as younger children. Ms. Hussain will also be both the first Muslim and the first Asian American President of the ALSC. She wants to continue “good services for children and their families, and that includes all children, whether they’re zero or whether they’re 17 and a half, or even 18.”

Ms. Hussain is currently serving as the President-Elect/Vice President. Next year, she will be the main president, and the year after that, she will serve as the Past-President, marking the end of her three-year term. She is currently part of the Executive Board, along with the current President, Past-President, Executive Director, Fiscal Officer, and Councilor, who acts as a representative in the larger association. The Executive Board is accompanied by the regular board, on which Ms. Hussain served for three years.

As the president, Ms. Hussain will act as a spokesperson for the division as a whole, representing its 4,000 members. She will also attend conferences, preside over meetings, and choose a particular area of focus for the “President’s Program.” The division is also in charge of book awards such the Newbery Medal and the Caldecott Medal.

Before this position, Ms. Hussain served on the board of the ALSC for three years, as well as on several other boards, giving her experience for the position. Later, a member of the Nominating Board asked her to stand for office. She was elected by a majority and began her three-year term.

Ms. Hussain believes that libraries serve a purpose beyond providing books. “Libraries are … one of the last places in society that you can kind of be there and exist without having to spend money,” Ms. Hussain says. She goes on to explain that libraries “want to showcase books that represent the public” and that they give citizens access to information.

“Something that was really sobering to me was that I knew that I was going to be the first Muslim president of this organization,” Ms. Hussain says. But, she didn’t realize that she was also the first Asian American president until one of the members of the Asian Pacific American Librarians Association, of which Ms. Hussain is also a part, congratulated her on being the first Muslim and the first Asian American.

“So that, to me, that was pretty sobering. I just didn’t think that that was true.” There had been many other presidents of color, as well as queer and neurodivergent presidents, but in its 84 years of existence, the ALSC has never had an Asian American or a Muslim president.

“I want to do well in representing the Asian American community, Muslim American community, and also, I am the first [President] for a while … who has had young children.”

“I’m really grateful to have a lot of great people, part of [the] ALA staff and my other board members, who are super smart, super talented, and capable people who are also supporting the work of our division, not just me, but the whole work of our division. So I think they will help me to succeed.”