About the ALA Public Programs Office

The mission of the ALA Public Programs Office is to foster cultural programming as an integral part of library service. Our current programs include:

Book and Media Discussion Programs

The ALA Public Programs Office has long been at the forefront of library discussion programs. In 1982, ALA launched the first national book discussion series, “Let’s Talk About It.” Since then, the range of discussion programs developed and presented by the ALA Public Programs Office has included film and audio discussion series, family reading, discussion and storytelling series, theme-based book discussion series, a radio program/reading discussion program, and more.

• FRONTLINE/World Social Entrepreneurship
• Great Stories CLUB
• Let’s Talk About It
• Let’s Talk About It: Love & Forgiveness
• Let’s Talk About It: Jewish Literature—Identity and Imagination
• One Book, One Community
• Soul of a People: Voices from the Writers’ Project

Traveling Exhibitions

In communities of all sizes, traveling exhibitions are special events that help identify libraries as important cultural centers. Libraries hosting traveling exhibitions present many related public programs, including lectures by scholars, panel discussions, book and film discussion series, school and college class tours and curriculum activities, essay contests, and concerts. The ALA Public Programs Office coordinates traveling exhibitions for libraries across the country.

• Alexander Hamilton: The Man Who Made Modern America
• Benjamin Franklin: In Search of a Better World
• Changing the Face of Medicine: Celebrating America’s Women Physicians
• Forever Free: Abraham Lincoln’s Journey to Emancipation
• Harry Potter’s World: Renaissance Science, Magic, and Medicine
• John Adams Unbound
• Lewis & Clark and the Indian Country
• Lincoln: The Constitution and the Civil War
• Pride and Passion: The African American Baseball Experience
• Visions of the Universe: Four Centuries of Discovery

Family & Youth Programs

These programs provide enrichment opportunities for families, young adults and children through their school or public libraries.

• Great Stories CLUB
• Picturing America
• PRIME TIME® Family Reading Time
• We the People Bookshelf

Past PPO Programs

See past PPO programs for inspiration.