The American Library Association Executive Board has selected Leslie Burger as ALA’s interim executive director. Her first day is November 15, 2023.
Burger brings years of experience as a leader in our field, from her service as president of the American Library Association from July 2006 to July 2007, where she had a depth of involvement in ALA operations, to her position as executive director of the Princeton Public Library, where she helped plan, design and secure funding for a new 55,000 square foot library that opened in 2004. During 2015-16 she led efforts to redesign and fund the library’s adult services department resulting in more space for meetings, co-working technology and collaboration. A proven fundraiser, she raised more than $27 million during her 16 years at the Princeton Public Library. She is also the founding partner of Library Development Solutions, which has a long list of clients including urban, suburban and rural public libraries, academic and special libraries, and library cooperatives.
Burger is an adjunct professor at Rutgers University. She has an MLS from the University of Maryland in College Park and a master’s degree in organizational behavior from the University of Hartford. She received her BS from South Connecticut State College. She’s won many honors and awards, including the New York Times Librarian of the Year 2005.
“We were thrilled with the high caliber of candidates who responded to our interim executive director search, and we are confident that Burger will lead the American Library Association through this interim period with aplomb,” said ALA President Emily Drabinski.
The Board chose Burger because of her knowledge of ALA as its previous president, her broad and deep experience working with libraries across the country on strategic development and community engagement, and her experience with development and capital campaigns.
Burger will uphold ALA’s mission “to provide leadership for the development, promotion, and improvement of library and information services and the profession of librarianship in order to enhance learning and ensure access to information for all.”
The search for a permanent executive director has already begun.
Gary Price (gprice@gmail.com) is a librarian, writer, consultant, and frequent conference speaker based in the Washington D.C. metro area.
He earned his MLIS degree from Wayne State University in Detroit.
Price has won several awards including the SLA Innovations in Technology Award and Alumnus of the Year from the Wayne St. University Library and Information Science Program. From 2006-2009 he was Director of Online Information Services at Ask.com.
