Being president of this organization is an opportunity to combine my ideas and strengths with those of other members, and collectively become a much more powerful force than any of us could be individually. It’s been a wonderful year, and we made progress on many fronts, both close to home and further afield. The theme of this year’s annual report, Extending Our Reach, describes what we’ve done and suggests just how much we can accomplish when we work together.

One of our proudest moments came at this year’s American Library Association Annual Conference Opening Session in New Orleans. On your behalf, I presented checks for $7,500 each to the Louisiana and Mississippi Library Associations. Immediately after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, ILA established a disaster relief fund to coordinate support from Illinois and raised $15,000 in donations. Librarians and others wanted to help and we all needed a vehicle that would make our donations as useful as possible. The gratitude of our colleagues on the Gulf Coast was immeasurable.

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