How we remember the 1876 conference remains in archives and manuscripts. All of the 1876 organizers’ personal papers have been donated to other archives. Fortunately, at ALA Archives, there is the 1926 anniversary scrapbook produced from the original 1876 correspondence. These same correspondence were consulted by library historian Edward G. Holley for his book Raking the Coals, and these letters are available on microfilm in Record Series 5/60/76.
Originally, the 1876 conference papers were held at the Boston Public Library. Only in 1926, for the Fiftieth Anniversary conference, the papers from the 1876 conference were bound and transferred to the American Library Association. The correspondence letters and journal articles were bound together as a scrapbook, for display at the 1926 sesquicentennial conference.
The scrapbook features correspondence, telegrams, two conference calls, and contemporary newspaper reviews of the conference in Philadelphia.
- Introduction
- Curators’ Note
- The 1853 Convention of Librarians
- In the Archives: the 1853 Convention of Librarians
- The 1876 Conference
- In the Archives: The 1876 Conference
- The 1926 Conference
- In the Archives: The 1926 Conference
- The 1951 Conference
- In the Archives: The 1951 Conference
- The 1976 Conference
- In the Archives: The 1976 Conference