Tamika Barnes, associate dean of Perimeter College Library Services at Georgia State University in Atlanta, has been elected 2026–2027 president-elect of the American Library Association (ALA). The Association made the announcement April 6.
Barnes received 3,827 votes, while her opponent, Becky Calzada, district library coordinator at Leander (Tex.) Independent School District, received 2,742 votes.
Upon learning the outcome of the election, Barnes provided the following statement:
"I am deeply honored by the trust ALA members have placed in me," Barnes said. "Throughout this campaign, I have listened to members across library types and career stages, and I will continue to lead with that same commitment to connection, transparency, and responsiveness.
Together, we will foster an ALA that is bold in its advocacy, clear in its purpose, and prepared to meet the challenges and opportunities ahead."
Barnes is currently Georgia Library Association (GLA) president. She served on the GLA executive board from 2013 to 2021, the ALA Executive Board from 2018 to 2021, and ALA Council from 2015 to 2018 and 2019 to 2021. Barnes is a member of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) and the Black Caucus of ALA. She has served on numerous ALA committees and groups, including the ALA Budget Analysis and Review Committee, two ALA presidential advisory committees, and the ACRL Conference Experience and Inclusion Committee. She is a Spectrum Scholar.
Barnes received several honors, including the 2021 GLA Bob Richardson Memorial Award and the 2017 Black Caucus of ALA Library Advocacy Award. She is also recognized as a 2024 Library Senior Fellow at University of California, Los Angeles, and a 2019 fellow at Leading Change Institute.
Barnes holds a BA in biology from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an MLS from North Carolina Central University in Durham.
In her candidate statement published in American Libraries in March, Barnes pledged that her presidency would focus on four pillars: unified advocacy; inclusive leadership and professional growth; equity, access, and intellectual freedom; and transparency and stewardship.
"I have seen firsthand how ALA's values of equity, diversity, inclusion, intellectual freedom, and social responsibility are lived out every day by library workers across the country," Barnes wrote. "These values have shaped my own leadership, which is collaborative, grounded in integrity, and centered on community impact."
She will assume presidency of ALA at the conclusion of the 2027 ALA Annual Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.