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40 Years of ALA Archives at the U of I

Posted on by Cara Bertram
One of many photos at the ALA Archives
Book Week Publicity, circa 1940. One of many photos at the ALA Archives.

With its approaching centennial in 1976, the American Library Association noticed the increased interest in the history of the librarianship and the association by historians, writers and archivists.  Because of this greater awareness in their records, the ALA expressed concern over the management of their archives and the preservation of their history.  At the time, most of the ALA archives were housed in a warehouse in Chicago and, while it was conveniently located near ALA Headquarters, the records were not easily accessible.  The ALA Librarian and staff had worked hard to care for the archives, however it was a great task in addition to their other obligations. [1]

Continue reading “40 Years of ALA Archives at the U of I” →

Have you a card catalog? Katharine L. Sharp’s Catechism for Librarians

Posted on by Denise Rayman
Cover of "Catechism for Librarians"
Cover of “Catechism for Librarians”

The more things change, the more they stay the same, or so you will think when you look at this laundry list of key considerations Katherine L. Sharp outlines for someone setting up a library in her writing “Catechism for Librarians.” Unlike a religious Catechism, she outlines not what to believe but a series of questions a librarian must answer for herself. Despite being only 3 by 5 inches in size, 24 pages long, and never published, these 180 questions still provide a reasonable guide to someone setting up a library today. And their relevance is still more interesting when you consider that this was written in 1891, with no knowledge of the sweeping changes in librarianship and technology that were to come. A few of the more prescient questions are presented here in their modern context:  Continue reading “Have you a card catalog? Katharine L. Sharp’s Catechism for Librarians” →

“The Best Man in America is a Woman”: Katharine L. Sharp and the First “Lady Librarians”

Posted on by Denise Rayman
Katharine Sharp with Melvil Dewey and other librarians
Katharine Sharp and other librarians at an unknown event, c. 1900. Caption on the back reads: “Mr. Brunden, our host, Miss ‘Public Libraries’ Ahern; Mr. Dewey (with the Placid look upon his face); Miss K. L. Sharp; Miss M. McIlvaine.”

For an educated woman at the turn of the century, there were few options for a intellectually satisfying career, as Katharine L. Sharp discovered as a newly minted college graduate in 1885. She taught foreign languages at a high school in Illinois for two years, but then she took a position as Assistant Librarian at the Scoville Institute and seems to have found her calling. Believing so strongly in the burgeoning field of professional librarianship, she enrolled in the new New York State Library School in 1889, where she studied under Melvil Dewey. [1]  Continue reading ““The Best Man in America is a Woman”: Katharine L. Sharp and the First “Lady Librarians”” →

Banned Books Week

Posted on by Cara Bertram
"Open Your Mind To A Banned Book," 2003.
“Open Your Mind To A Banned Book,” 2003.

This week is the 31st annual Banned Books Week, an event when the American Library Association and numerous other sponsors encourage the reading of banned and challenged books.  The week was first inspired by the success of the Banned Book Exhibit at an American Booksellers Association (ABA) convention in 1982, which featured almost 500 banned and challenged books.[1] Continue reading “Banned Books Week” →

“Capturing our Stories” Librarian Oral Histories Project Added to ALA Archives’ Digital Holdings

Posted on by Denise Rayman

As part of her 2007-08 presidential term, Loriene Roy initiated an oral history program for retiring librarians, “Capturing Our Stories.” So far this program, which is still on-going, has produced 35 recordings with full transcripts, which have now been added to the ALA Digital Archives and made available to researchers online.

Librarians interviewed range from school librarians to public library directors to catalogers, from California to New York. One librarian of note interviewed is Sanford Berman, author of Prejudices and Antipathies, famous criticism of the sexism and racism inherent in the Library of Congress subject headings of the 1970s. Berman’s personal papers are also held in the ALA Archives.

[ensemblevideo contentid=nG8i4Nk2Nk-V5dFHlK6rqg]

 

Explore the full holdings of these oral histories here.

If you’re interested in helping with the “Capturing Our Stories,” you can find more information at the project website.

“To meet him was to always meet an old friend”: F. W. Faxon

Posted on by Lydia Tang

In honor of the upcoming American Library Association Conference:

A TOAST TO THE TRAVEL COMMITTEE
(Tune: “Lord Goffrey Amherst was a soldier of the King.”)

Oh, here’s to Mr. Faxon and our jolly A. L. A.
And the travel committee too,
And here’s to Mr. Phelan, who has left us by the way,
And forsaken our merry crew,
And here’s to Mr. Brown, who came direct from Brooklyn town;
To chaperone the party was his cue.
And here’s to Mr. Wellman, who’s our leader all the way,
and last, but not least, HERE’S TO YOU.

Chorus: A. L. A., A. L. A.,
‘Tis a name that’s known
From sea to sea,
A. L. A., A. L. A.;
From the A. L. A. are we. [1] 

ala-9901014-5-004
A Group of Librarians in Colorado
Record Series 99/1/14

Continue reading ““To meet him was to always meet an old friend”: F. W. Faxon” →

American Library in Paris

Posted on by Lydia Tang

As described by Director Dorothy Reeder, the American Library in Paris was a “war baby, born out of that vast number of books sent to the A. E. F. by the American Library Association in the last war.  When hostilities ceased, it embarked on a new mission, and has served as a memorial to the American soldiers for whom it has been established.”[1] Continue reading “American Library in Paris” →

A Testimony of Friendship

Posted on by Angela Jordan
Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin, January, 1944

On April 13, 1942, General Manuel Ávila Comacho, President of the Republic of Mexico, spoke at the formal dedication of the Biblioteca Benjamin Franklin in Mexico City.  The dedication of the library, made possible by a grant from the Coordinator of Inter-American Affairs to the American Library Association, was attended by Mexican officials, American embassy staff, and Mexicans and Americans active in the library organization.  Presentations and receptions occurred throughout the week for library organizers and contributors, university representatives, and the public. Continue reading “A Testimony of Friendship” →