Cindy Hohl

The Kansas City Public Library’s Cindy Hohl was inaugurated as the new American Library Association (ALA) president on Tuesday, July 2, 2024, at the annual ALA conference.

Hohl is the first ALA president from a Kansas City-area library, the first from a Missouri library in 90 years, and the second Native American to hold the position. She has been with the Library since 2018 and is the director of policy analysis and operational support.

As she moves through her yearlong presidency, she’ll be featured on numerous media platforms, which the Library is thrilled to highlight on a rolling basis.

Cindy Hohl, MBA/MLIS, is a member of the Santee Sioux Nation and works as the director of policy analysis and operational support at the Kansas City Public Library. She is a past president of the American Indian Library Association (AILA) and works with librarians to share information across the globe as a member of the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) Indigenous Matters Section and in her work as co-chair on the Tribal Library Council for the Association of Tribal Archives, Libraries, and Museums (ATALM). She recently served on the steering committee of the Joint Council of Librarians of Color conference.

With a passion for upholding intellectual freedom, Cindy serves as an ex-officio trustee on the executive board of the Freedom to Read Foundation and as a member of the Missouri Library Association Intellectual Freedom Committee. As a proud ALA Spectrum Scholar, she strives to increase diversity in the library field through mentorship, recruitment, and advocacy. Cindy is the project manager of the Bridging Knowledge Scholarship at San Jose State University for 15 Indigenous students to obtain their MLIS degree, sponsored by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.

Cindy is the 2024-25 president of the American Library Association and the first Spectrum Scholar to be elected to the role. She serves as the presiding officer of both the ALA and ALA-APA executive boards and is an active member in all five of the National Librarian of Color affiliate groups of ALA, including the American Indian Library Association, Asian Pacific American Library Association, Black Caucus of ALA, Chinese American Library Association and REFORMA, the national association to promote library and information services to Latinos and the Spanish speaking.

Cindy holds a Bachelor of Science from Friends University, a Master of Business Administration from Baker University, and a Master of Library and Information Science from Wayne State University.

  • The Spectrum Changemaker, 2024
  • AILA Leadership, 2024
  • Power the Dream Spotlight, 2024
  • Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom- MLA, 2024
  • Innovator's Award- FTRF, 2023
  • ALA Equality Award- JCLC, 2021