{"id":7975,"date":"2025-07-10T20:09:58","date_gmt":"2025-07-10T20:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/?p=7975"},"modified":"2025-07-10T20:11:20","modified_gmt":"2025-07-10T20:11:20","slug":"librarians-go-on-a-road-trip-1926","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/2025\/07\/10\/librarians-go-on-a-road-trip-1926\/","title":{"rendered":"Librarians Go on a Road Trip! The 1926 Foreign Delegate Post-Conference Excursion"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
A group of foreign delegates in Atlantic City during the ALA Fiftieth Anniversary Conference, October 1926.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In early October 1926, almost sixty librarians from twenty-five countries gathered in Atlantic City and Philadelphia to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the American Library Association along with over two thousand American librarians.[1]<\/a> By all accounts, the conference was a great success.[2]<\/a> The international delegates held sessions on foreign librarianship and participated in discussions about improving international relations among librarians. But the best part of this all-expenses-paid trip to the US didn\u2019t happen during the actual meeting: when the conference ended, about thirty international delegates went on a multi-state excursion, visiting twelve cities in the span of two weeks. From Atlantic City to Boston, Chicago to Washington, D.C., the delegates traveled by bus, train, car and steamer to see as much of the US as possible\u2014and as many libraries as possible\u2014ensuring they would return home with minds brimming full of library innovations and international amity.<\/p>\n

The ALA sent invitations to governments and prominent librarians earlier that year.[3]<\/a> Though invitations to the conference were sent to over fifty countries around the globe, the editors of the Library Journal<\/em> noted that they had hoped for more delegates to represent countries in Latin America.[4]<\/a> The post-conference excursion committee, chaired by Ernest C. Richardson, made an initial plan and contacted head librarians and state\/local library associations in each city to be visited. The travel committee, chaired by F. W. Faxon, and the secretary of the ALA, Carl B. Milam, arranged the final itinerary and travel logistics. Eleven countries were invited to nominate a delegate to attend the conference and post-conference excursion, all expenses paid. Foreign librarians who had already confirmed their attendance at the conference were also invited.[5]<\/a> To make the entertainment of foreign delegates financially possible, the ALA received a grant of $6,500 from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and additionally fund-raised among ALA members.[6]<\/a> Twenty-nine delegates from fourteen countries went on the trip, and many wrote back to the ALA afterwards singing their praises of the hospitality and friendship of their hosts. The trip was concluded two weeks after the conference, capped by an informal meeting on international cooperation in Washington, D.C.[7]<\/a><\/p>\n

We have compiled a complete itinerary for the post-conference excursion based on correspondence and programs found in the ALA Fiftieth Anniversary Conference scrapbooks, vol. I: Preliminary Arrangements and vol. III: International Correspondence Part 2.[8]<\/a> The foreign delegates were entertained by public and university libraries and library associations in each city. They were given time to tour dozens of libraries and speak with staff in different departments about innovations in librarianship. They even met the U.S. President! Delegates were kept busy but left the country with greater knowledge of the American library system than any of them could have hoped for.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Group of conference attendees visiting Princeton University.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Saturday, October 9<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:10 a.m.<\/td>\nLeave Atlantic City for Princeton<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Afternoon<\/td>\nLeave Princeton for New York City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Evening<\/td>\nArrive in New York City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7:30 p.m.<\/td>\nDinner at the Hotel Plaza<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Delegates at Princeton Station.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n
Sunday, October 10<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Pierpont Morgan Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Monday, October 11<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:30 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit the New York Public Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:30 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Children\u2019s Library, Robert Bacon Memorial<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11:00 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit the New York Herald-Tribune<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1:00 p.m.<\/td>\nLuncheon at the home of Mrs. Robert Bacon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Brooklyn Public Library, Brownsville Children\u2019s Branch and Headquarters<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4:45 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Pratt Institute Free Library, tea in the Art Gallery<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the New York Public Library, dinner in the cafeteria<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Foreign delegates, governor, and lieutenant governor on the Massachusetts State House steps.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tuesday, October 12<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:00 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit Columbia University<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Metropolitan Museum of Art, luncheon and tour of the collections by staff members<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5:00 p.m.<\/td>\nLeave New York City for Boston on the Eastern Steamship Line<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Wednesday, October 13<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8:00 a.m.<\/td>\nArrive in Boston at India Wharf, then to Hotel Kenmore for breakfast<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:30 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Boston Public Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12:30 p.m.<\/td>\nLuncheon at the Hotel Somerset<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2:00 p.m.<\/td>\nForm parties to visit places of interest: Simmons College Library School, Museum of Fine Arts, State Library and office of the Free Public Library Commission, branches of the Boston Public Library, neighboring town and city libraries (Brookline, Waltham, Somerville)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Boston Athenaeum for tea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5:30 p.m.<\/td>\nReturn to Hotel Kenmore<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7:30 p.m.<\/td>\nDinner tendered by the Mayor of Boston and the Trustees of the Public Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
American Falls, taken on the 1926 post-conference excursion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Thursday, October 14<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8:00 a.m.<\/td>\nBreakfast at Hotel Kenmore<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:30 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit Harvard University<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12:30 p.m.<\/td>\nLuncheon with the President and Fellows at the Harvard Union<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit places of interest<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4:00 p.m.<\/td>\nReception at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5:15 p.m.<\/td>\nReturn to Hotel Kenmore, then to Trinity Place Station<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6:10 p.m.<\/td>\nLeave Boston for Niagara Falls on sleeper train<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Delegates on the steps of the Toronto Public Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Friday, October 15<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3:35 p.m.<\/td>\nLeave Niagara Falls for Toronto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6:30 p.m.<\/td>\nArrive in Toronto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7:30 p.m.<\/td>\nDinner at the King Edward Hotel and Hart House, University of Toronto (women at King Edward Hotel with Mrs. Locke, men at Hart House with the President of the University of Toronto)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Saturday, October 16<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:00 a.m.<\/td>\nBus tour through Toronto, visit the Toronto Public Library, the Boys and Girls House, the Reference Library, and the University Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12:30 p.m.<\/td>\nReturn to King Edward Hotel<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1:00 p.m.<\/td>\nLuncheon tendered by the Mayor and Corporation of the City of Toronto<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3:20 p.m.<\/td>\nLeave Toronto for Detroit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Evening<\/td>\nArrive in Detroit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Detroit Public Library, taken on the 1926 post-conference excursion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Sunday, October 17<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:30 a.m.<\/td>\nCar tour through Detroit with Detroit Library staff, noting automobile plants, residence streets and Belle Isle, briefly visit the McGregor Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11:00 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Detroit Public Library, luncheon with Trustees and staff<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12:00 p.m.<\/td>\nLeave Detroit for Ann Arbor<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3:30 p.m.<\/td>\nArrive in Ann Arbor, tea at the University Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4:30 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the University Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6:20 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit Study Hall in Angell Hall<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6:45 p.m.<\/td>\nDinner at the University of Michigan Union<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8:30 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the William L. Clements Library of American History<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:30 p.m.<\/td>\nRetire (women at the University Librarian\u2019s home with Mrs. Bishop, men at the Union)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11:15 p.m.<\/td>\nLeave for Michigan Central Station<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11:40 p.m.<\/td>\nLeave Ann Arbor for Chicago on sleeper train<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Delegates on the steps of the University of Michigan library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Monday, October 18<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6:30 a.m.<\/td>\nArrive in Chicago, then to Drake Hotel for breakfast<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:00 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Offices of the American Library Association and John Crerar Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1:00 p.m.<\/td>\nLuncheon at the University of Chicago Quadrangle Club<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the University of Chicago and Harper Memorial Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2:30 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit Ida Noyes Hall, then University or Chicago Public Library branches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Chicago Public Library and Training Classrooms for tea<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Evening<\/td>\nReturn to Drake Hotel<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Delegates at the Legler Branch of the Chicago Public Library.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Tuesday, October 19<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10:00 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Henry E. Legler Branch of the Chicago Public Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11:30 a.m.<\/td>\nCar tour through Chicago to Evanston<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1:00 p.m.<\/td>\nLuncheon at Mr. Mason\u2019s home, then car tour through the Northwestern University campus and North Shore suburbs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Newberry Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7:00 p.m.<\/td>\nDinner at Drake Hotel with ALA professional staff and Chicago librarians<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12:00 a.m.<\/td>\nLeave Chicago for Cleveland on sleeper train<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Wednesday, October 20<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7:35 a.m.<\/td>\nArrive in Cleveland, then to Hotel Cleveland for breakfast<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:30 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Cleveland Public Library<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12:30 p.m.<\/td>\nLuncheon<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1:30 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit Cleveland Public Library branches and school branches<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3:00 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the Western Reserve University Library and School of Library Science<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3:45 p.m.<\/td>\nTea at the School of Library Science, then car tour through residential section and Lake Shore Drive, or rest at the University Club<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6:00 p.m.<\/td>\nDinner at the University Club<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7:50 p.m.<\/td>\nLeave Cleveland for Washington, D.C. on sleeper train<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Kiichi Matsumoto, Walter Powell, and R. J. Gourley on the 1926 post-conference excursion in Cleveland.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Thursday, October 21<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8:50 a.m.<\/td>\nArrive in Washington, D.C., then to Mayflower Hotel<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12:15 p.m.<\/td>\nVisit the White House and meet President Coolidge<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1:00 p.m.<\/td>\nLuncheon with Dr. Putnam, Librarian of Congress<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Afternoon<\/td>\nVisit the Library of Congress<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7:00 p.m.<\/td>\nDinner at Mayflower Hotel with the D.C. Library Association<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Foreign delegates at the White House in October 1926, calling to pay their respects to President Coolidge.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Friday, October 22<\/td>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9:45 a.m.<\/td>\nVisit D.C. libraries and points of interest<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
1:00 p.m.<\/td>\nLuncheon at Mayflower Hotel, then informal meeting on international cooperation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3:00 p.m. (or within 30 days)<\/td>\nLeave Washington, D.C. for New York City<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

All sources are located in the American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, Charles F. D. Belden Papers, 1902-1927, Record Series 97\/1\/33, Box 1, Folder: Reports and Memorabilia, 1925-26, unless otherwise noted. This folder is digitized and will soon be available online here: https:\/\/digital.library.illinois.edu\/collections\/d2b35160-3c86-013d-4e6f-02d0d7bfd6e4-6<\/a>. Photographs are found in Record Series 97\/1\/33, Box 1, Folder: Photographs, 50th Anniversary, 1926.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> American Library Association, \u201cOpened with greetings from the presidents\u2026\u201d, news release.<\/p>\n

\u201cVisiting Delegates from, and Representatives of, Foreign Countries and Libraries: Tentative List.\u201d<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> [Editorial Notes], Library Journal<\/em> 51, no. 18 (1926): 916.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Invitations to the Fiftieth Anniversary Conference and Post Conference Excursion can be found in RS 97\/1\/33, Box 1, Folder: Reports and Memorabilia, 1925-26.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> [Editorial Notes], 916.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> \u201cALA Post Conference Excursion 1926,\u201d Fiftieth Anniversary Conference Records, 1923-1926, Record Series 5\/1\/26, Box 1, ALA Fiftieth Anniversary Conference<\/em> III, International Correspondence Part 2 (1926): 474.<\/p>\n

[6]<\/a> Delegates representing the library interests of fifteen countries to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, October 17, 1926.<\/p>\n

[7]<\/a> Resolution of the Informal Meeting on International Cooperation, October 22, 1926, Fiftieth Anniversary Conference Records, 1923-1926, Record Series 5\/1\/26, Box 1, ALA Fiftieth Anniversary Conference<\/em> III, International Correspondence Part 2 (1926): 583.<\/p>\n

[8]<\/a> Record Series 5\/1\/26, Box 1, American Library Association Archives at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In early October 1926, almost sixty librarians from twenty-five countries gathered in Atlantic City and Philadelphia to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the American Library Association along with over two thousand American librarians.[1] By all accounts, the conference was a great success.[2] The international delegates held sessions on foreign librarianship and participated in discussions about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":866,"featured_media":8027,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,7,8,10,1],"tags":[20,116,138],"class_list":["post-7975","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ala-history","category-found-in-the-archives","category-just-for-fun","category-library-history-not-ala-specific","category-uncategorized","tag-ala-annual-conference","tag-international-librarianship","tag-library-history"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7975","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/866"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7975"}],"version-history":[{"count":20,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7975\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8035,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7975\/revisions\/8035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7975"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7975"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7975"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}