LHRT (Library History Round Table)

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The mission of the Library History Round Table (LHRT) is to encourage research and publication on library history and promote awareness and discussion of historical issues in librarianship.

Learn more about LHRT on the ALA website.

  • 1.  What do YOU think? Highpoints of 150 years of ALA?

    Posted Nov 21, 2025 07:13 AM
    𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐝𝐨 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤? 𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟓𝟎  𝐄𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐋𝐀'𝐬 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲?
    𝐓𝐡𝐞 draft 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝟓𝟎 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐀𝐋𝐀 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐚𝐬𝐤 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝟓𝟎 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬?
     
    𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫, 𝐚 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐡𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝  𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐢𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧'𝐬 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐑𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 (𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐭𝐢𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐬: 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟗-𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟎, 𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟑-𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟒, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎-𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟏) 𝐬𝐮𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐒𝐀, 𝐋𝐒𝐂𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐒𝐓𝐀 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐝. 𝐈 𝐚𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝   𝐁𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐀𝐋𝐀 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐚𝐥𝐬𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. Background on both is in the American Library Association Archives.
     
     𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝟏𝟗𝟒𝟖 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐒𝐀, 𝐋𝐒𝐂𝐀 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐒𝐓𝐀 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭:
     
    • 𝐉𝐨𝐞𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐥, 𝐂.𝐁. & 𝐖𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰, 𝐀. (𝟏𝟗𝟒𝟖). 𝐀 𝐍𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐏𝐮𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐢𝐜𝐞. 𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐨: 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. (see 

      Post-War Planning Committee File, 1941-1948 | The American Library Association Archives

     
    𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐦𝐚𝐣𝐨𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭.
     
    • 𝐏𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐧 (𝐞𝐝.), 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐅𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭, (𝐂𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐠𝐨, 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟖).   𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐚 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐦𝐚𝐫𝐤 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞-𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫 𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐡 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟑 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐚𝐧𝐬 (𝐀𝐀𝐒𝐋), 𝐚 𝐝𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐀𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐀𝐬𝐬𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (𝐀𝐋𝐀), 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚 $𝟏.𝟏𝟑 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐊𝐧𝐚𝐩𝐩 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧-𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐡 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐨𝐩𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞. 𝐈𝐭 𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐨𝐥 𝐥𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐔.𝐒., 𝐛𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐬𝐮𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝟏𝟗𝟓𝟖 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐭𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐲, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐏𝐞𝐠𝐠𝐲 𝐒𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐧, 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐞 𝐀𝐋𝐀 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟎-𝟏𝟗𝟖𝟏), 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐚𝐬 𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐀𝐀𝐒𝐋'𝐬 𝟏𝟗𝟔𝟎 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬. (excellent overview at ALA Archives.)


    ------------------------------
    Kathleen de la Peña McCook
    Distinguished University Professor
    School of Information
    University of South Florida
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: What do YOU think? Highpoints of 150 years of ALA?

    Posted Nov 21, 2025 08:39 PM
    1. 1893 Chicago a world's Fair conference
    2. 1976 100th anniversary conference.
    3. Organization of SSRT (1969, I think)

    Anybody out there wanna name some low points?

    1. 1891 conference 
    2. 1936 conference
    3. 1977 conference (Speaker conference)

    Wayne A. Wiegand





  • 3.  RE: What do YOU think? Highpoints of 150 years of ALA?

    Posted Nov 22, 2025 08:09 PM
    Lemme add another low point-Marjorie Fiske's book on California school and public library censorship in the 1950s.  It was heavily assigned in LIS programs for more than two decades (I read it in a Collection Development course in 1954), showed the 204 CA librarians interviewed heavily engaging in prior censorship, and pretty much mirrors what's happening in school libraries today.   Wayne



    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: What do YOU think? Highpoints of 150 years of ALA?

    Posted Nov 23, 2025 08:03 PM
    Whoops!  Read Fiske in 1974, not 1954 ( when I was watching Howdy Doody on the B&W TV my parents had just purchased).



    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: What do YOU think? Highpoints of 150 years of ALA?

    Posted Nov 23, 2025 08:55 PM
    My fingers get ahead of my brain,too, sometimes.

    I remember Buffalo Bob and PrincessWinterFallSummerSpring very well.



    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: What do YOU think? Highpoints of 150 years of ALA?

    Posted Nov 25, 2025 10:27 PM
    Cindy Mediavilla

    Thanks for this very thorough overview of Fiske's report. I, too, have long been fascinated by her study, which, though it was very much a product of its time, still has relevance today.

    Perhaps the reason ALA didn't comment much on the report when it came out was because ALA didn't commission it. Instead, it was the California Library Association's (CLA) Intellectual Freedom Committee that initially broached the topic of a statewide study of the effect of censorship on California libraries. When the liberal foundation Fund for the Republic (itself under investigation for communist ties) agreed to fund the study, CLA got cold feet, but did end up partnering with UC Berkeley to see the project through. I would be happy to forward you other research on Fiske if interested.

    Source: https://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2010/the-fiske-report/

    Anita Coleman 



    Original Message