Party like it’s 1906! Image from the F. W. Faxon Collection
A recent acquisition to the archives is a small packet containing the bylaws and related documents of the ALA Players (“ALAP”). As described in the ALA Archives transmittal form, the ALAP was established when a huge snowstorm descended during the Midwinter conference of 1978, causing the group to be snowed in and looking for ways to occupy their time. The documents reflect the playful attitude of the members during their confinement. The ALA Players “continued for many years with dancing on Tuesday (or other) nights of each conference.” Continue reading “Snowed in at Midwinter: the ALA Players”→
Painting by Denman Fink, commissioned by the ALA for the United War Work Campaign, 1919. Record Series 89/1/60, Box 1, Folder: “ALA Library War Service Special Publications (1919)”
“[T]he blind soldier is the spirit of war, of the battlefront, of France,” said Jerry O’Connor, a blinded Cantigny veteran from World War I, during his award-winning speech titled The Duty of the Blind Soldier to the Blind Civilian at the Red Cross Institute for the Blind’s Public Speaking Contest in 1920. “We have the mud of the trenches upon our feet, gold chevrons upon our sleeves, and the scars of War upon our faces. Whether we deserve it or not, people stare at us, send us gifts, invite us to their homes, give us sympathy. Such circumstances place the blind soldier in a position where, when he speaks, he can be heard. Consequently, if the conditions of the blind can be improved, the blind soldier should speak – and be heard.” Identifying two major obstacles for blind people as “the habit of the public to look upon the blind man as incapable, sensitive, and helpless” and the lack of educational opportunities for the adult blind person, O’Connor called for public programs to address these obstacles for the blind. One of the institutions responding to this call for action would be the American Library Association. Continue reading “Library Service for the Blind”→
Burton Egbert Stevenson (1872-1962) was surprised to find himself named the foremost ALA representative in Europe for the Library War Services campaign during the first World War. A college dropout from Princeton University and aspiring novelist, he fell into the library profession after marrying Chillicothe Public Librarian, Elisabeth Shephard Butler and accepting a librarian position at the same library in 1899. Continue reading “Burton E. Stevenson: ALA Representative in Europe”→
Reference librarians on duty at the Library/USA exhibit
Three years before the founding of OCLC, and seven years before Michael Hart typed the first ebook for Project Gutenberg, the public got a tangible introduction to the potential use of computers in libraries at the New York World’s Fair. Even more uniquely, the Library/USA exhibit did not introduce people to the first commonly-spread use of computer technology in libraries, the online catalog, but instead to some of the library computer applications that would come much later, such as online encyclopedias and subject bibliographies. How did the ALA orchestrate this little slice of the future? Continue reading “Library/USA Exhibit at the 1964-5 New York World’s Fair”→
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]
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]
A Group of Librarians in Colorado Record Series 99/1/14
Before women were allowed to vote in US elections, the American Library Association found its leadership in Theresa West Elmendorf. In 1911, over thirty years after the founding of the ALA, Elmendorf was elected the first female president of the association.
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”→
With the help of the American Red Cross and the United Service organizations, the ALA collected 17 million volumes during its 1942-43 Victory Book Campaign. Continue reading “The ALA and World War II”→
New York City, New York Book Collection, February, 1919 Record Series 89/1/13
Within a few weeks of America’s entrance into World War I, the American Library Association undertook an enormous campaign to send books and other reading materials to American forces at home and abroad. Continue reading “A Book for Every Man”→
