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Introduction
Individual, community, and public health issues are increasingly important in today's political climate. Given massive rollbacks and cuts to the United States's social safety net, access to quality healthcare is severely imperiled for many Americans. This landscape is set against legacies of ongoing discrimination and disparities in healthcare access, services, and outcomes for minority populations, which have contributed to higher morbidity and mortality rates, a Black maternal health crisis, and mass incarceration. Escalating mental health concerns across various demographics-and particularly among young people-has highlighted the many ways that social environments influence health outcomes.
This summit will explore the various dimensions of individual, community, and population health through the twin lenses of social justice and the social determinants of health equity: "Where we are born, grow, live, work and age, and our access to power, money and resources influence our health outcomes more than genetic influences or healthcare" (World Health Organization).
Call for Presentations
In keeping with these lenses, the American Library Association's Social Responsibilities Round Table seeks presentations that explore the role that libraries of all types and public systems and institutions play in promoting health access, literacy, justice, and equity. We are interested in the intersection of health with other basic needs, like housing and food; institutions and domains, such as education and government; and specific populations, like immigrants, incarcerated individuals, and older adults. As always, we welcome presentations that are rooted in lived experience and highlight opportunities for deep learning, reflection, and engaged action in service to a more just and equitable world.
Potential topics include:
- Libraries' facilitation of health access, literacy, or care
- Healthcare in carceral settings, including jails, prisons, and detention centers
- Research on and/or initiatives to address racial and ethnic health disparities
- Health protections and supports for library workers
- Black maternal health
- The intersection of labor rights and healthcare
- Immigrant health care and protections
- Impacts of HR 1 on healthcare access and social safety net services in local communities
- Public libraries and public health
- Crisis response and community resilience
- Healthcare and access for LGBTQIA+ communities
- Dimensions of health across life spans
- Innovative services, partnerships, and programs to address social determinants of health and improve community well-being
- Innovative health research to advance social justice and close equity gaps
Submissions
Please submit your proposal using this form by 11:59 pm Pacific Time on March 10, 2026. Note that non-ALA members will receive an honorarium for their participation.
Questions? Please contact Rachel Rosekind (rosekindness@gmail.com) or Julie Winkelstein (jwinkelstein@yahoo.com).
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Rachel Rosekind
Educator, Editor, Writer, Activist, Library Commissioner
Write You Are / Contra Costa Library Commission
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