ALA history Archives | Page 2 of 2 | American Libraries Magazine

ALA's first permanent headquarters at 50 East Huron Street opened in 1963.

The Saga of Huron Plaza

By Wayne A. Wiegand | May 5, 2016

ALA hoped to add 25,000 square feet of office space by taking title to the ground and six floors in the new building, then lease three of those six floors to offset expenses for furnishing and finishing the new space and renovating 50 East Huron Street. Many doubted the wisdom of the move. That ALA … Continue reading The Saga of Huron Plaza →

National Library Week

By Wayne A. Wiegand | April 13, 2016

By any measure, the event was a huge success: Some 68 million subscribers to 22 national magazines could read well-placed articles about libraries. A total of 170 million homes served by radio and TV could hear or view 14 network programs on libraries. Readers could glean 11,607 stories celebrating libraries running in newspapers at the … Continue reading National Library Week →

US President Dwight D. Eisenhower and Dartmouth President John Sloan Dickey at the Dartmouth College commencement, June 14, 1953. Courtesy of Dartmouth College Library

The Freedom to Read

By Wayne A. Wiegand | March 15, 2016

Eisenhower’s words shocked many because they constituted his first public challenge to McCarthyism—an ethos enveloping the country at the time and fed by Senator Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.), who inferred communist conspiracies everywhere in American culture, including books on the shelves of 194 information libraries that the US State Department operated in 61 foreign countries. Like-minded … Continue reading The Freedom to Read →

ALA officials stand in front of the Hall of Congresses at the St. Louis World’s Fair, 1904: (left to right) ALA President-Elect Ernest Cushing Richardson, former ALA President Reuben Gold Thwaites, and ALA President Herbert Putnam. Richardson wears one of the white buttons that identifies him as an ALA conference attendee. Credit: ALA Archives

Meet Me in St. Louis

By George M. Eberhart | February 19, 2016

Imagine a conference where, after listening to a “characteristic address” by Melvil Dewey—“full of the enthusiasm of invention and the ardor of prophecy, which never fails to kindle a responsive spark in his audience”—you venture out to ride on the biggest Ferris Wheel in the world, eat some new-fangled ice cream cones, watch Alexander Graham … Continue reading Meet Me in St. Louis →

First page of War Libraries: Official Organ of the War Service Committee, American Library Association, 1918.

The Library War Service

By Wayne A. Wiegand | February 18, 2016

The ALA established its Library War Service in 1917 to provide books and library services to US soldiers and sailors both in training at home and serving in Europe. This second book drive in early 1918 generated 3 million books, many going overseas, others ending up on the shelves of 36 training-camp libraries erected through … Continue reading The Library War Service →

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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Angela Haupt writes: “It started with a happily ever after. In 1972, Avon Books published The Flame and the Flower, by Kathleen Woodiwiss—a hefty historical romance that traded chastity for steamy sex scenes. It arrived in the thick of the sexual revolution, and readers loved it: It was an instant bestseller that’s credited with birthing the modern romance genre.”

Washington Post, Apr. 15
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Mihir Paktar writes: “You probably already know about Project Gutenberg, OverDrive, Centsless Books, and some of the other best free ebook download sites. In this article, we’ll look beyond them to find free ebooks from sources you may not have heard of before. This includes one of the best forums to get books, a place to dig up old-school pulp fiction, and some better ways to get the classics.”

Make Use Of, Apr. 19
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Simon & Schuster has said it will not pull out of a seven-figure book deal with Mike Pence after some of its employees called for the contract to be scrapped, stating that “we come to work each day to publish, not cancel.” An open letter circulated by staff at S&S said that the publisher had “chosen complicity in perpetuating white supremacy by publishing Pence,” in a two-book deal struck earlier this month and reported to be worth $3–4 million.

The Guardian (UK), Apr. 21
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Anne Holmes writes: “National Poetry Month is here (arguably the most wonderful time of the year, but we’re biased), and we’re excited to share what we have in store. The centerpiece of our annual April festivities is the release of 50 newly digitized recordings to the Archive of Recorded Poetry and Literature. Among this year’s additions are readings and conversations featuring consultants in poetry Robert Hayden, Anthony Hecht, and William Jay Smith. For the first time streaming from the archive, you can also listen to recordings from Carolyn Kizer, May Miller, Michael McClure, Shreela Ray, John Okai, Sapphire (right), Paul Theroux, Quincy Troupe, and dozens more.”

Library of Congress: From the Catbird Seat, Apr. 15
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Librarian Tayla Cardillo writes: “Earlier this year in the Murray (Utah) School District, the book Call Me Max by Kyle Lukoff was challenged after it was brought in by a 3rd-grade student for their teacher to share with the class. According to The Salt Lake Tribune, after the book was read to the class some families reached out to the school district to complain, upset that this book was shared with their children without their permission. But the Murray School District’s response to these challenges did not stop there. The school district also chose to put its equity book bundle program on hold while they reviewed the titles included in this program.”

OIF Blog, Apr. 19
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In Episode 61, Call Number with American Libraries talks with school librarians about how they changed their work and services during the pandemic. First, American Libraries Managing Editor Terra Dankowski speaks with three school library media specialists about how they bootstrapped a bookmobile to provide free titles to kids learning remotely. Next, American Libraries Senior Editor and Call Number host Phil Morehart talks with Melissa Jacobs, director of New York City School Library System and the New York Department of Education’s Department of Library Services, about how librarians in the largest school district in the US operated during the pandemic.

AL: The Scoop, Apr. 20
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Author and Waterstone’s Children’s Laureate Cressida Cowell (How to Train Your Dragon) recently launched the Life-Changing Libraries project, which highlights the importance of library spaces for primary schools. On April 12 she shared an open letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson asking, “How can a child become a reader for pleasure if their parents or carers cannot afford books, and their primary school has no library, or that library is woefully insufficient?”

BookTrust (UK), Arr. 13

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