Tag: Conferences

Librarians, Segregated: The 1936 ALA Annual Conference

Posted on by Deborah Walters

This blog post is part of a series exploring the important events and people in ALA’s history for the celebration of the 150th anniversary of ALA in 2026.

The Advance Attendance Register for the Richmond Conference displayed a rendering of the White House of the Confederacy.

Wilson Bulletin editor, Stanley J. Kunitz, called it the “The Spectre at Richmond” – but the racial discrimination at the 1936 ALA Annual Conference was no ghostly apparition.[1] The conference was held in Richmond, Virginia, a city with Jim Crow era racial segregation laws. While the American Library Association itself had no segregation or discriminatory policies, up until 1936 they had not established any ruling against holding a conference in a segregated city where members would be subject to discrimination. Thus, “the Spectre” marched into the halls of the hotels and auditoriums, reminding all librarians present that there was still work to be done. Continue reading “Librarians, Segregated: The 1936 ALA Annual Conference” →

Shared Visions: The National Conference on Asian/Pacific American Librarians

Posted on by Cara Bertram
Ling Hwey Jeng and Ken Yamashita
Ling Hwey Jeng and Ken Yamashita, Planning Committee co-chairs.

In 2001, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) partnered to host the first and only National Conference on Asian/Pacific American Librarians. It was held before to the ALA Annual Conference and took place in San Francisco with programming running from June 13-15. The theme, Shared Visions: Heritages, Scholarship, Progress, was chosen “with a sincere commitment to representing the rich diversity of East, South and Southeast Asian and Pacific American ethnicities, cultures and communities.”[1]

The conference was years in the works, a “labor of love by many members of the [APALA] and [CALA].”[2] Planning Committee co-chair, Ken Yamashita, would note that he gained inspiration after seeing the success of the Black Caucus of the ALA and REFORMA’s conferences.[3] Solid plans started to take shape during the 1998 ALA Midwinter Meeting, when members from CALA and APALA met with the ALA Office for Literary and Outreach Services. Originally the group had hoped to hold the conference in 1999, alongside the ALA Annual Conference in New Orleans, but decided to push the date to 2001.[4] Continue reading “Shared Visions: The National Conference on Asian/Pacific American Librarians” →

Publications: COGNOTES

Posted on by Salvatore De Sando

Since 1972, COGNOTES has published ALA annual and midwinter conference news. Printed at ALA Headquarters and produced by volunteers, COGNOTES is staffed by New Members Round Table (NMRT) members and non-members. This is an ALA publication rich with information about experiences and events at ALA conferences.

Read on to learn more about the art and history of COGNOTES!

Continue reading “Publications: COGNOTES” →

Celebrating 140 Years of the ALA

Posted on by Cara Bertram

ALA1876In celebration of the 140th anniversary of the American Library Association, the ALA Archives, spearheaded by Salvatore De Sando (ALA Archives Assistant), will be tweeting correspondence about the 1876 Conference. The source materials come from a scrapbook of letters and publications for the first ALA conference in 1876 in Philadelphia, October 4-6. The archives will be tweeting the written words from correspondents, such as Melvil Dewey, Justin Winsor, William Poole, and other founders of the ALA.

The tweets start on May 18th and will continue through the summer. Follow us on Twitter @ALA_Archives and our hashtag #ala1876.

The ALA Archives will be debuting a digital exhibit, Celebrating the Organizers: 140 Years of Library Conference Planners in Letters and Images at the ALA Archives, on October 6th. 140 years to the day when “the register was passed around for all to sign who wished to become charter members”and the American Library Association was founded.

The ALA Archives will also be holding a small 140th birthday party on October 6. More details to come in the fall!

“The First Convention of the Kind”: The 1853 Librarians’ Convention

Posted on by Cara Bertram
Letter of support for the convention.

Before the first American Library Association Conference in 1876, there was the 1853 Librarians’ Convention. The idea was first presented in 1852, in Charles Norton’s Norton’s Literary Gazette and Publisher’s Circular, though it would take another year for the idea to take root. After much correspondence a group of librarians put out an official proposal for a convention in May of 1853. The proposal, “Call for a Convention of Librarians”, was published in Norton’s Literary Gazette, stating: Continue reading ““The First Convention of the Kind”: The 1853 Librarians’ Convention” →

“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” →