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Sam Helmick
President of the American Library Association
Incumbent
Assumed office
July 2025
Preceded byCindy Hohl
Succeeded byMaria McCauley[1]

Sam Helmick is the 2025–2026 president of the American Library Association.[2] Helmick also works as a community and access services coordinator at the Iowa City Public Library.

Education and career

[edit]

Sam Helmick earned a Bachelor of Science in Human Services from Iowa Wesleyan University and a Master of Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois School of Information Sciences in 2012.[3][4]

They have served on committees for the United States National Library of Medicine, Stonewall Book Award, Young Adult Library Services Association, and Sophie Brody Award.[5]

Helmick was president of the Iowa Library Association in 2023 and chair of the Iowa Governor's Commission on Libraries.[6][7] As president of the Iowa Library Association, they wrote to newspapers in Iowa to support a library levy.[8]

Helmick has been active in speaking against Iowa legislation limiting library funding[9] and against book censorship.[10] Publishers Weekly highlighted Helmick's anti-censorship work in 2024.[11]

American Library Association

[edit]

They served on the American Library Association Executive Board.[12] They were also previously chair-elect of the ALA's Intellectual Freedom Round Table and Freedom to Read Foundation.[13][5]

They were named by the ALA Council, in line with the organization's bylaws, as president-elect on July 23, 2024 after Raymond Pun stepped down in June 2024, and began serving as the ALA president in July 2025.[13][14][2] Prior to this, Pun has received 5,611 votes, while Helmick had received 2,778 votes during the organization's election in April 2024 for the next 2025-2026 ALA president.[15]

In August 2025, Helmick noted they are Republican, as the Trump administration aimed to withhold "some federal funding," telling Reuters "as a Republican myself, I would love to hear more from my team on this."[16] Prior to this, Helmick had been described, by the Sioux City Journal, in February 2024, as a Republican.[17]

As president Helmick writes for the Association's journal, American Libraries.

  • "Why We Show Up." July, 2025. [18]
  • "Sustainability at Our Core." September, 2025. [19]
  • "The Pulse of Our Profession: Chapter advocacy is vital to the library’s lifeline." November, 2025.[20]

In an interview at with Paul Raushenbush on the podcast, The State of Belief, Helmick emphasized their presidential theme, “Our stories are worth sharing,” and highlighted the transformative power of libraries and the need for community involvement.[21]

Personal life

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Helmick is aromantic, asexual, and non-binary. They described themselves to Publishers Weekly in April 2024 as the first "nonbinary, aromantic, asexual" president of the Iowa Library Association, and noted the organization's opposition to SF 496 in Iowa which aimed to ban books such as Gender Queer.[22]

References

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  1. ^ "McCauley Wins 2026–2027 ALA Presidency". American Library Association. April 7, 2025. Archived from the original on July 15, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Sam Helmick Selected as ALA President-Elect". American Libraries Magazine. July 25, 2024. Archived from the original on June 15, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  3. ^ "Helmick chosen 2024-2025 ALA president-elect". University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. July 26, 2024. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  4. ^ "2025-2026 ALA President, Sam Helmick". American Library Association. Archived from the original on August 15, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  5. ^ a b Crossett, Laura (February 8, 2024). "Four Questions with ALA Presidential Candidates Sam Helmick and Ray Pun". Library Futures. Archived from the original on July 11, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  6. ^ SinhaRoy, Sanhita (March 1, 2024). "Meet the Candidates for ALA President: Sam Helmick". American Libraries Magazine. Archived from the original on June 17, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  7. ^ King, Grace (August 1, 2024). "Iowa City librarian named next president of American Library Association". The Gazette. Archived from the original on June 10, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  8. ^ Helmick, Sam (October 20, 2023). "Letters to the editor: Use your voice to support library funding". Storm Lake Times Pilot. Archived from the original on November 26, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  9. ^ Clayworth, Jason (February 8, 2024). "Group warns Iowa's war on books now targeting public libraries". Axios. Archived from the original on February 29, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  10. ^ Phelps, Becky (March 15, 2024). "Iowa libraries see increase in attempts to challenge and ban books". KCRG. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  11. ^ Maher, John (April 12, 2024). "Censorship Is a Hammer Looking for a Nail: PW Talks with Sam Helmick". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on July 13, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  12. ^ "Sam Helmick chosen 2024-2025 American Library Association president-elect". ALA. July 25, 2024. Archived from the original on August 25, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  13. ^ a b Albanese, Andrew (July 26, 2024). "Sam Helmick Named ALA President for 2025-2026". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on June 11, 2025. Retrieved June 10, 2024.
  14. ^ "Sam Helmick chosen 2024-2025 American Library Association president-elect". American Library Association. July 25, 2024. Archived from the original on August 25, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  15. ^ "Pun wins 2025-2026 ALA presidency". American Library Association. April 8, 2024. Archived from the original on March 2, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  16. ^ Erickson, Bo (August 15, 2025). "Trump funding delays testing Congress' power may be intensified. How will Republicans respond?". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 15, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  17. ^ Barton, Tom (February 10, 2024). "Republicans halt move to revive local library tax". Sioux City Journal. Archived from the original on August 26, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.
  18. ^ Helmick, Sam. Why We Show Up. American Libraries. July 23, 2025.
  19. ^ Helmick, Sam. Sustainability at Our Core. American Libraries. September 2, 2025.
  20. ^ Helmick, Sam (November 3, 2025). "The Pulse of Our Profession: Chapter advocacy is vital to the library's lifeline". American Libraries.
  21. ^ Raushenbush, Paul Brandeis (September 13, 2025). "Libraries and Religious Freedom, with ALA President Sam Helmick". Interfaith Alliance. Retrieved September 18, 2025.
  22. ^ Maher, John (April 12, 2024). "Censorship Is a Hammer Looking for a Nail: PW Talks with Sam Helmick". Publishers Weekly. Archived from the original on April 1, 2025. Retrieved August 30, 2025.