The American Library Association (ALA) has appointed Rachel Hendrick as Senior Director of ALA Publishing & Media. In this leadership role, she will oversee publishing strategy and guide the transition toward a more centralized model intended to strengthen ALA’s position as a source of professional content for libraries and library workers.
Hendrick will provide strategic direction for the Publishing & Media unit, focusing on operational alignment, financial management, and product development. Her responsibilities include enhancing digital infrastructure, supporting collaboration across divisions, and ensuring that ALA’s publishing products evolve in line with industry trends and audience needs.
She joined ALA in 2014 as operations manager at Choice, a publishing unit of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), and was promoted to Director of operations in 2016. In 2022, she became interim editor and publisher of Choice before assuming the permanent role. During her tenure, she helped reshape operations and content to meet the needs of modern librarianship, led the redesign of Choice Reviews, relaunched Choice360.org as an open access hub, and supported the launch of the Toward Inclusive Excellence and LibTech Insights blogs. She also oversaw the integration of Choice operations into ALA shared services, resolving budget challenges and positioning the publication for sustainable growth.
Before joining ALA, Hendrick worked in publishing at LIFE magazine as a photo researcher and Editorial Production Manager, later holding positions at Reader’s Digest, Condé Nast, and Sotheby’s. Her background includes experience in editorial leadership, publishing operations, and library-centered product development.
Hendrick holds a master’s degree in library and information science from Long Island University, specializing in rare books and special collections, and a master’s degree in history from the University of Connecticut. She earned her bachelor of fine arts degree from Pratt Institute, where she studied art history.
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