ALA history Archives | Page 3 of 3 | American Libraries Magazine

After the 1894 ALA Annual Conference in Lake Placid, New York, attendees took an excursion by train and steamboat to Sagamore House on Lake George, where this photo was taken.

American Libraries Marks ALA’s 140th Anniversary

February 2, 2016

We are marking the occasion in print and online with features that showcase the Association’s rich history, including: a Pinterest board chronicling a visual history of ALA special ALA history-themed Throwback Thursday (#tbt) photos on Facebook and Twitter blog posts from Wayne A. Wiegand on ALA’s greatest moments throughout history, such as this first entry detailing the … Continue reading American Libraries Marks ALA’s 140th Anniversary →

Card from the first American Library Association conference in Philadelphia, October 4-6, 1876, possibly showing the library of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania.

Present at the Creation

By Wayne A. Wiegand | January 29, 2016

The forces that brought them together were diverse. In 1875, US Commissioner of Education John Eaton was looking for a venue to announce a Special Report on Public Libraries he planned to publish the next year. On July 2, he asked Boston Public Library Director Justin Winsor about a library conference. (We don’t know whether … Continue reading Present at the Creation →

Latest Library Links

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Kelly Jensen writes: “Libraries are on the ballot this November. Beyond the top-of-the-ballot offices, two main ballot matters relate to public libraries and schools this fall. First, there will be elections in several states and municipalities for school and library board members. Who sits on these boards matters tremendously. Second, there will be numerous elections related to library funding. Here’s your reminder to get to know what is on your local ballot, how to determine the best candidate for office, and what to do after you don your ‘I voted’ sticker.”

Book Riot, Oct. 16
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Glyn Moody writes: “Back in the early days of the internet, 1988 to be precise, the self-replicating computer program known as the Morris worm spread across the network and shut down thousands of online VAX and Sun computers. Since that early botched experiment, intentionally malicious worms have been written to create botnets that can launch distributed denial-of-service attacks. But the arrival of artificial intelligence (AI) agents that can carry out actions autonomously brings with it a new threat: AI worms potentially able to seek out, hack into, and infect any device that is online.”

Techdirt, Oct. 16
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Jaime Taylor writes: “In the field of urban planning, a well-established and growing body of discourse encourages reconsideration of stakeholder theory. This article will review the advent of stakeholder theory in the business management literature, distill urban planning’s criticism of the theory and ideas for moving past it, and suggest what from urban planning’s critique of stakeholder theory can be adopted in librarianship’s theory and practice. As in urban planning, these new directions for librarianship will be oriented toward democracy and justice.”

Urban Library Journal, vol. 32, no. 1
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Only 9% of public libraries have implemented artificial intelligence (AI) policies, according to a new survey by Library Futures. Most respondents from libraries that did have AI policies did not find them useful for most applications, and many reported gaps in the AI policy. However, respondents at libraries that did not have a policy believed their library needed one. Based on these findings, the Library Futures AI policy working group plans to develop resources such as general AI policy guidelines, model policies, recommendations for vendor negotiations and collection development policies, and a bibliography.

Library Futures, Oct. 15
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Zachary Maiorana writes: “For our digital team at Harvard University’s Schlesinger Library, email collections frequently pose complex and isolated challenges. In many cases, email accessions require significant attention to identify personally identifiable information, achieve normalization of formats, reach ideal levels of archival processing, and migrate email data to a preservation repository. Mailboxes and loose email files we receive from donors tend to resist our efforts to reach a good standard of description, preservation, and access. This series takes a look at recent technical issues involving email and how we worked them out.”

Society of American Archivists BloggERS, Oct. 16
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The Pew Research Center has published new fact sheets on Americans’ use of the internet, social media, and mobile devices in 2026. Surveys found that 91% of American adults own a smartphone, and 16% own a smartphone but do not use broadband at home. YouTube is the most popular social media platform, used by 84% of American adults, followed by Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. While home broadband has been widely adopted, people with lower income and education levels are less likely to report subscribing to a broadband service at home.

Pew Research Center, Oct. 19
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Londun Christensen writes: “The removal of a longtime logo from the Farmville (N.C.) Public Library is raising concerns about transparency after three residents reportedly complained that its design resembled a rainbow and was associated with LGBTQ+ beliefs. The logo had represented the library for 14 years before it was removed following complaints made to a town commissioner. Farmville Mayor Alex Joyner said his biggest concern is how the decision was made and the lack of public discussion surrounding the change. Residents will have an opportunity to share their opinions and concerns during a meeting November 2.”

WCTI-TV (New Bern, N.C.), Oct. 19

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