At NELA 2026: Connected Communities, we’re bringing New England library leaders together for two important conversations about the challenges, successes, and opportunities shaping libraries across our region.

There’s still time to save on registration for the New England Library Association’s 2026 Annual Conference, taking place October 25–27 in Burlington, Vermont!

This year’s conference theme, Connected Communities, celebrates the relationships, ideas, and collaborations that strengthen our libraries and our profession. Join library professionals from across New England for three days of learning, networking, and connection.

Early Bird Registration Ends Today

Today, Friday, September 11, is the last day to register at the Early Bird rate.

There’s still time to save on registration for the New England Library Association’s 2026 Annual Conference!

Join library professionals from across New England October 25–27, 2026, in Burlington, Vermont, for Connected Communities, a conference focused on the relationships, ideas, and collaborations that strengthen our libraries and our profession.

Early Bird Registration Extended Through September 11

Based on feedback from our library community—and to give attendees additional time to review the conference schedule—Early Bird Registration has been extended through Friday, September 11!

Connect, Learn, and Grow: Join Us at the 2026 NELA Annual Conference

The New England Library Association is excited to invite library professionals, advocates, and colleagues from across the region to the 2026 NELA Annual Conference, taking place October 25–27 in Burlington, Vermont.

This year’s theme, Connected Communities, celebrates the relationships, collaborations, and shared purpose that strengthen our libraries and the communities we serve. At a time when connection is more important than ever, the conference will bring together library professionals from across New England to exchange ideas, share experiences, and explore the future of our profession.

Please join us on Thursday, September, 10th at noon for Bound & Determined a virtual empowerment series for Librarians.

Neurodiversity 101 For Professionals: Terminology, Accessibility, and Work Strategies:
This presentation focuses on developing tools for healthy understandings of, and interactions with, neurodivergent individuals. It will cover language and terminology, accessibility efforts, and strategies for specific situations. This is designed to be valuable for professionals in any field who work with neurodivergent individuals or wants to make their organization more accessible and welcoming to neurodivergent employees and patrons. It will explore many different aspects of the neurodivergent experience and the experience of working with neurodivergent individuals.

Jeremy will discuss the “why” behind many of the changes that have happened inside and outside of the neurodivergent community, leading to a deeper understanding of terminology and neurodiverse individuals' perspectives. The presentation features a large number of personal and professional stories illustrating the potential pitfalls and successes that come with working with a neurodiverse population. Attendees will have time to ask questions related to their personal experiences and will leave the presentation with a variety of tools, strategies, and general advice that will prove useful throughout their career.

Dear NELA Members,

People with leadership skills can be found in every library position, and the NELA Leadership/NELLS Committee invites you to share your knowledge, experience, and vision.

Sustainable Libraries Initiative Partners with the New England Library Association

The Sustainable Libraries Initiative partners with the New England Library Association to cultivate library leadership for community resilience. Download the Press Release PDF

Dear New England Library Community,
As this season of state library conferences draws to a close, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to all of our state associations, committee members, volunteers, exhibitors and attendees for the immense hard work and dedication that went into planning and executing these fantastic events over the past few months.

The seamless execution of these conferences is a testament to the hard work and tireless dedication of the organizers and members who pour their time into supporting our profession. These state-level gatherings are essential to the health of our regional network. They provide an irreplaceable forum for librarians and paralibrarians across all sectors to come together, exchange groundbreaking ideas, and find renewed strength in professional camaraderie.

The New England Library Association (NELA) is proud to announce the recipient of the 2025 Emerson Greenway Award - Maine’s State Librarian, Lori Stockman. This is the highest award presented by NELA to a librarian who demonstrates distinguished service, innovation, leadership, and collaboration throughout the New England region. This year’s recipient has shown a high level of commitment, professionalism and dignity to the library profession in light of unprecedented challenges.

Lori’s work has positively impacted those around her. She has worked to strengthen communication across the region and build stronger systems, which many other state libraries have adopted. More than this, she advocates for intellectual freedom as well as legislation that impacts libraries throughout the region. Appointed Maine State Librarian in December 2022, Stockman has led efforts to strengthen statewide library networks, promote equitable access to information, and support innovation in rural and underserved communities. Before coming to Maine, she served as Assistant State Librarian at the New Hampshire State Library and spent 11 years as Director of the Baker Free Library in Bow, New Hampshire. Throughout her career, Lori has been active in professional leadership through the American Library Association, serving on the Committee on Legislation, the Intellectual Freedom & Advocacy Committee, and the ALA Policy Corps. Her work has focused on strengthening libraries as essential public institutions and ensuring that every resident, regardless of location, has access to high-quality information and resources. 

IFC Helpline

Did you know that IFC has a helpline?

The New England Intellectual Freedom Helpline connects librarians facing intellectual freedom challenges or issues to librarians from their home state who have volunteered to provide support and resources. Helpline coordinators who assign the cases will make every effort to match requestors to volunteers with similar library experience. Conversations between those seeking assistance and the volunteers is confidential. You may request to remain anonymous. Your case will be assigned and a volunteer will reach out soon.

IFC Helpline

Emerson Greenaway Award

Selection Criteria | Selection & Nomination Process | Past Recipients

The Emerson Greenaway Award is the New England Library Association’s award for distinguished service in librarianship. In 1988, NELA President Christine Kardokas established the “Great Librarian Award” to recognize the contributions of exceptional librarians. The first recipient to be honored for his outstanding achievements was Emerson Greenaway, an innovator in library organization and practice in the mid-twentieth century. Two years later, this regional tribute was renamed the Emerson Greenaway Award to honor the memory of its first recipient. It is presented annually, whenever there is a worthy candidate, at NELA’s Annual Conference.

[Bath, New Hampshire] – [March 21, 2025] – The New England Library Association (NELA) strongly opposes the Trump Administration's March 14th executive order to defund the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Americans rely on public, school, and academic libraries to access knowledge and a wealth of resources. This action threatens essential funding for library programs and staff jobs that provide essential services such as: free access to information, educational opportunities, and digital resources—especially for underserved and rural communities.

Libraries are essential to our communities, offering free and equitable access to information, education, and technology. Defunding IMLS compromises literacy programs, workforce development, and access to technology that countless individuals rely on daily. We urge our members and the public to take action against this short-sighted executive order. Our libraries are an important piece of our American fabric. President John Adams said, "Let us tenderly and kindly cherish therefore, the means of knowledge. Let us dare to read, think, speak, and write."

NELA is pleased to announce an excellent slate of candidates for the positions of Vice-President/President Elect, Member-at-Large, and Secretary for the 2024 - 2025 Executive Board. All people with active NELA memberships should have received a ballot from NELA's official QuestionPro account. We have gotten feedback that some people have been finding it in their spam folder. If you have an active membership, and you have double-checked your spam folder, and you still are not seeing a ballot, please email Megan Bishop at [email protected].

Vice-President/President Elect | Member-at-Large | Secretary

Your NELLS 2024 Tier I: Emerging Leaders Cohort!

NELA is pleased to announce the following individuals who have been accepted into the New England Library Leadership Symposium for 2024. These individuals submitted applications that demonstrated a sincere interest in developing their leadership skills, and the potential to make a significant impact in the profession.

These are the documents (mind map and list of all resources) from the January ITS meet-up. We hope you can join us at the next In the Know session on March 14th. Bobbi Lee Slossar, Technology Librarian at the New Hampshire State Library, has volunteered to lead a presentation and discussion on the latest AI.

We are also still looking for state reps for most of New England to help guide ITS. We promise it won't be too onerous! We are also looking for future presenters for In the Know sessions. Please reach out to ITS chair, Beth Morrill ([email protected]), if you are interested or have any questions!

NETSL 2024 Annual Conference & Award for Excellence in Library Technical Services

 The theme for the 2024 New England Technical Services Librarians Conference is

If It’s Broke, Let’s Fix It: Open Dialogue Between Problem and Opportunity

Order HERE- Deadline: Fri, Jan, 26th

NELA See's Candy Storefront NELA