In early May 1953, a group of 25 representatives from the American Library Association, the American Book Publishers Council (later the Association of American Publishers), and other associated citizens, met in Rye, New York to discuss the fundamental freedom to read. This “Westchester Conference,” named after the Westchester Country Club meeting place, was a resounding success. Out of this conference grew one of the most important and well-known policies of the American Library Association: the Freedom to Read Statement. Continue reading ““No Censorship at Any Time”: The 1953 Westchester Conference”
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Henry and Edith Carr, ALA’s Golden Couple
With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, the ALA Archives can’t help but think of love. The spirit of the holiday compels us to remember possibly the most famous ALA couple of all time, Henry and Edith Wallbridge Carr. Married for 43 years and active in the American Library Association for even longer, the Carrs were well-known within the library community of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. Where did the romance of these two librarians begin? At an ALA conference, of course!
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Librarians, Segregated: The 1936 ALA Annual Conference
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.
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”
15 Years of Fear: The ALA and the Patriot Act
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.
October 26, 2001, marked the beginning of a 15-year-long struggle for the privacy rights of library users as a result of the USA PATRIOT Act being signed into law by President Bush. The Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act, colloquially known as the Patriot Act, expanded surveillance and investigation capabilities of law enforcement to combat terrorism after the attack on September 11th.[1] Included in the bill was Section 215, which became known as the “library provision” as it allowed intelligence agencies to “obtain information about members of the public, including library records, based on a minimal submission to a secret court.”[2]
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Publications: Reading for an Age of Change Advertisements, 1961-1966
From at least 1961 through 1966, the series title Reading for an Age of Change was advertised through a fun variety of bookmarks which can also be fun for determining their elusive publication dates. Read on to learn more about dating ephemeral publications and advertising for Reading for an Age of Change!
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