Image commemorating CALA's 50th anniversary

CALA Turns 50

November 1, 2023

CALA President Vincci Kwong attributes the group’s longevity to the relationships members form with one another. “Sometimes you feel isolated at your library because you don’t have a lot of people who are Asian American,” she says. “[In CALA,] people serve on committees, and we form a bond and stay together and still network after … Continue reading CALA Turns 50


Carrie C. Robinson

Separate—and Unequal

October 6, 2020

Born in Mississippi in 1906, Robinson began her career as a librarian serving Black schools in South Carolina, Georgia, and Louisiana before settling in Alabama, where she initially worked for Alabama State College as an assistant professor of library education. In 1947, she helped organize a librarian section of the Alabama State Teachers Association, a … Continue reading Separate—and Unequal


E. J. Josey's 1964 Charge "Keep on Pushing"

“Keep on Pushing”

June 27, 2020

“E. J. Josey’s 1964 Charge: ‘Keep on Pushing’” charted the life of E. J. Josey (1924–2009), librarian, educator, author, activist, founding member of BCALA, and 1984–1985 American Library Association (ALA) president. The session opened with images of Black life from the late 1800s to the present and the American civil rights movement, backed by the … Continue reading “Keep on Pushing”


The ALA Gay and Lesbian Task Force ­marching in the 1992 San Francisco Pride parade.

The Rainbow’s Arc

June 1, 2020

In the decades that followed, the group’s name changed periodically to reflect the evolving times, finally becoming known in 2019 as the Rainbow Round Table. But its mission—to serve the information needs of LGBTQIA+ library professionals as well as the information and access needs of the LGBTQIA+ community at large—has never faltered. LGBTQIA+ youth have … Continue reading The Rainbow’s Arc


American soldiers in Paris just after the armistice of World War I. The American Library in Paris was a continuation of the work of the Library War Service, which ALA created in 1917 to supply reading materials to US servicemembers stationed in Europe during the war.

We’ll Always Have the American Library in Paris

May 1, 2020

Founded in 1920, the American Library in Paris is the largest English-language lending library in continental Europe. Burton Stevenson, one of the library’s founders and among its first directors, was well known for assisting the American Library Association (ALA) as it established army libraries abroad during the First World War. He wanted to continue the … Continue reading We’ll Always Have the American Library in Paris




Former American Libraries Senior Editor Beverly Goldberg

Longtime Editor Goldberg Remembered

October 11, 2018

“Bev’s laugh was infectious and full of life,” said American Libraries Editor and Publisher Sanhita SinhaRoy. “It could fill a room and make everyone smile. She will be missed.” Goldberg began as editor of the classified advertising section in American Libraries, then expanded her duties to include news and features as an associate editor in … Continue reading Longtime Editor Goldberg Remembered



Children read in the Soissons Library in Aisne, France, after World War I. Photo: ALA Archives

The French Connection

February 16, 2017

Anne Tracy Morgan, daughter of financier John Pierpont (J. P.) Morgan, was the mind and money behind the volunteer mobilization. Morgan was a frequent visitor to France. When war broke out, she threw herself into relief work for the Allied cause. In 1917, she created the American Committee for Devastated France, better known as CARD … Continue reading The French Connection


Cara Bertram. (Photo: L. Brian Stauffer)

Bookend: ALA through the Ages

June 1, 2016

The ALA Archives have been around since 1973, and Bertram—who describes herself as an “archivist through and through”—knew about the Association and “how large an impact it had on history.” But she has been especially impressed with ALA’s World War I records, which she says are among her favorite items. Also prized is a scrapbook of … Continue reading Bookend: ALA through the Ages