In 1949, a petition was brought to ALA Council during the Midwinter Meeting to form the Round Table on Library Service Abroad. The petition was approved and thus officially began what was later known as the International Relations Round Table (IRRT). However, IRRT’s origins can be traced to a year earlier in 1948 to the (confusingly named) International Relations Round Table on Library Service Abroad, a conference held at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Also called the Williamstown Conference, its resounding success laid the foundation for IRRT.
In February 1948, the ALA International Relations Office (IRO) sent out a questionnaire to librarians on its Foreign Library Service Roster. The last question asked, “Would you be willing to attend, at your own expense, a ‘guinea pig’ session, devoted to the international aspects of library work …?”[1] 100 librarians affirmed their unreserved interest in the “guinea pig” session, while others noted their interested dependent upon funding.[2] With a strong response to the question, Helen Wessells, associate director of IRO, started planning.
The intent for the “guinea pig” session was to utilize seminar methods to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of working abroad and how to prepare librarians to work overseas. Along with interested librarians, a group of resource people would attend to speak and help facilitate discussion, composed of government representatives, librarians with international experience, and area and subject specialists. The outline of the program focused on four areas: library work from an international viewpoint, area studies, interpreting the United States, and diplomatic relationships.[3]
Pulling together the ambitious event was not an easy task. With hopes of hosting the session after the ALA Annual Conference in Atlantic City that June, Wessells only had a few months to plan. At the start of March, Wessells had no venue, funding, nor approval from the ALA Executive Board. However, everything started to come together by the following month. Williams College librarian, Wyllis E. Wright, confirmed the college’s ability to host the event, lodging was secured at the Williams Inn, and the Executive Board gave its approval, telling Wessells to write a proposal to the Carnegie Corperation for funding. While the grant wasn’t confirmed until May, the Carnegie Corporation quickly signaled its interest by deeming the session “a project deserving further, and probably favorable, consideration.”[4]
Wessells desired a relatively small group of attendees to facilitate free discussions, so perspective participants had to submit a letter of interest to the IRO to be selected to attend. Those who did participate were provided with thorough information to prepare themselves. The IRO gave out train and flight schedules, room rates at the maximum of $4 a night (for the privilege of a semi-private bathroom), and the warning that the food at the inn was “excellent, but you can prepare to put on some weight.”[5]
What came together was a weeklong conference from June 21 to June 28 with over fifty librarians, ALA staff, specialists, educators, and government representatives in attendance. The schedule was packed with sessions on language and culture, book selection, impacts on communities and people, and services to children and youth, along with documentaries and talks that extended into the evening. The round table was so productive that it had its own daily bulletin for attendees, recapping the day’s discussions, events, announcements, and even a “Social Note” with notices for a garden party with Wyllis Wright and a cocktail party hosted by the Williams College president.
The last day of the conference was reserved for self-reflection of the program. What came out of the discussion was the intent to form an ALA round table with the purpose “to discuss all aspect of library service abroad.”[6] In this session, the participants also informally elected three officers for the proposed round table, Wessells as chair, Marie Hurley as vice-chair, and Katharine Shorey as secretary-treasurer.[7] These officers were also charged with starting the process of formalizing the round table in ALA.
The Williamstown Conference was well received. Enthusiastic feedback, letters, reports, and writeups were produced about the success of the program, its collegial atmosphere, and Wessells’ leadership. One attendee called it the “most memorable weeks of my life.” Wessells was surprised by the overwhelming response, writing that, “It is surprising how the fame of Williamstown marches on. People … have heard about it and have been more than vocal in expressing their interest …”[8]
A report on the conference noted that, “The Williamstown Round Table is over but there is little doubt that the reverberations will echo for some time.”[9] With over seventy-five years of hindsight, we can safely assess this as an apt evaluation. Through the leadership of Helen Wessells and participation of enthusiastic and internationally minded librarians, came the start of the International Relations Round Table.
Blog post adapted from “IRRT@75 in the Archives,” International Leads 38, no. 1 (March 2024): 10-14. https://hdl.handle.net/11213/23538
[1] International Relations Office questionnaire, February 16, 1948, series 7/1/6, Box 7, Folder: Foreign Library Service Round Table – Orientation Program, 1948, American Library Association Archives.
[2] Helen Wessells to Robert Lester, April 13, 1948, series 7/1/6, Box 7, Folder: Foreign Library Service Round Table – Orientation Program, 1948.
[3] “International Relations Round Table on Library Service Abroad,” May 6, 1948, series 7/1/6, Box 7, Folder: Foreign Library Service Round Table – Orientation Program, 1948.
[4] Robert Lester to Wessells, April 26, 1948, series 7/1/6, Box 7, Folder: Foreign Library Service Round Table – Orientation Program, 1948.
[5] Wessells, “International Relations Round Table on Library Service Abroad,” May 24, 1948, series 45/1/6, Box 6, Folder: International Relations Round Table on Library Service Abroad, 1948.
[6] Daily Bulletin, June 28, 1948, series 45/1/6, Box 6, Folder: International Relations Round Table on Library Service Abroad, 1948.
[7] Ibid.
[8] Wessells to Andy G. Wilkison, July 30, 1948, series 7/1/6, Box 7, Folder: Foreign Library Service Round Table, 1948.
[9] Wessells, “Informal Report to the International Relations Board on the International Relations Round Table on Library Service Abroad,” July 12, 1948, series 7/1/6, Box 7, Folder: Foreign Library Service Round Table, 1948.