EveryLibrary Institute Welcomes Allison Jennings-Roche as Policy Fellow

The EveryLibrary Institute is pleased to announce the appointment of Allison Jennings-Roche as a Policy Fellow. In this role, Jennings-Roche will provide advice, technical assistance, and consulting support to our clients and partners on matters of public policy and tax policy affecting public libraries, school libraries, information access, and free expression at the local, state, and federal levels.

Jennings-Roche brings a rare combination of scholarly rigor, policy fluency, and frontline library leadership. She currently serves as Associate Director of Digital Initiatives & Collections at the University of Baltimore’s RLB Library and is a Ph.D. candidate in Information Studies at the University of Maryland. Her academic and professional portfolio spans information policy, intellectual freedom, digital collections, and inclusive leadership.

A Library Journal “Movers & Shakers” (2024) honoree, Jennings-Roche has authored and edited recent work on the legal and political environment for libraries, including guest editing The Political Librarian and writing for Against the Grain that address governance, neutrality, disinformation, and the criminalization of librarianship. She has designed and taught graduate and doctoral coursework on inclusive leadership and information ethics, and regularly speaks on advocacy, policy, and evidence-based practice. 

“Allison’s breadth of experience from campus leadership to national policy discourse will immediately strengthen our capacity to help libraries anticipate risk, shape policy, and protect the public’s right to read,” said John Chrastka, Executive Director of the EveryLibrary Institute.

In addition to her scholarship and teaching, Jennings-Roche serves in professional leadership roles, including on the board of Library Futures and as Federal Legislative Policy Coordinator for the Maryland Library Association. We are excited to welcome Allison to the team and to introduce her to our network of advocates, funders, and collaborators.