Author: Cara Bertram

American Archives Month: Tell Your Story

Posted on by Cara Bertram

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October is American Archives Month! But what does that mean for the American Library Association? The ALA Archives staff wants to encourage all ALA offices, divisions, committees, and round tables to start a conversation with the archives about depositing your records, both physical and digital.

We especially want to hear from ALA units that haven’t transferred their records to the archives yet. New committees, task forces, round tables, and sections can start by sending us their founding documents, including bylaws, charters, correspondence, meeting minutes and agendas, and even selfies of the members! Continue reading “American Archives Month: Tell Your Story” →

#AskAnArchivist Day

Posted on by Cara Bertram

Did you know that October is American Archives Month? It’s a time for archivists to dust off our favorite records and show them off, to put up new exhibits, give open houses and tours, and to bring greater awareness to our profession.

The month kicks off with #AskAnArchivist Day on Twitter, when archivists from around the country answer your questions! Last year the American Library Association Archives participated in this event and plans on doing so again next week Thursday, October 1. All day (at least during working hours), we will be answering your questions on Twitter. Just tag us with our Twitter handle, @ALA_Archives, and use #AskAnArchivist with your question. Continue reading “#AskAnArchivist Day” →

“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” →

“Develop the Power that is Within You”: The Harvey Dunn Poster Campaign

Posted on by Cara Bertram

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Sometimes in the archives you look for one thing and find something completely different, but wonderfully fascinating. A letter for the Harvey Dunn Poster Campaign is one of those great and random finds in the archives. The letter, dated June 26, 1923, was a call for librarians to hang up a poster of a man reading a book in a factory, the image of the poster was originally from a painting by Harvey Dunn. Carl Milam, then Secretary of the ALA, stated that the, “Harvey Dunn poster … speaks directly to the people who need to learn of the hidden treasures which are theirs for the asking.”[1] Continue reading ““Develop the Power that is Within You”: The Harvey Dunn Poster Campaign” →

Tour of the ALA to the Pacific Coast

Posted on by Cara Bertram
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Sketch of S. S. Green from the Los Angeles Times, Oct 24, 1891.

In October 12-16 of 1891, the first ALA Annual Conference in San Francisco was held. It was the first conference to be held on the Pacific Coast and 83 people were in attendance, with Samuel Swett Green presiding as president. Even after over a hundred years, some of the topics discussed during the sessions would not be out of place at the 2015 Annual Conference. ALA members talked about library architecture, library administration, the use of libraries in schools, library legislation, and public support for public libraries. Continue reading “Tour of the ALA to the Pacific Coast” →

National Library Workers Day: “Libraries Work Because We Do!”

Posted on by Cara Bertram
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Courtesy of ALA Allied Professional Association

Today is National Library Workers Day, part of National Book Week. It’s a day to recognize the contributions made by library workers and all they do to keep libraries and library programs running. During the last few weeks, the ALA Allied Professional Association (ALA-APA) has been promoting National Library Workers Day (NLWD) by providing a space to recognize stellar library workers, providing NLWD merchandise, giving suggestions for celebrations, and going on a social media blitz with photographs from the ALA Archives of library workers. Continue reading “National Library Workers Day: “Libraries Work Because We Do!”” →

Daniel W. Lester Library Postcard Collection

Posted on by Cara Bertram
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A Carnegie Library at McPherson College, c. 1910.

In November the ALA Archives received a very generous donation of over 6,000 library postcards from Daniel Lester, now called the Daniel W. Lester Library Postcard Collection. The postcards made a cross country journey, courtesy of Larry Nix, from Mr. Lester’s home to the ALA Archives where they are now open for researchers to access. Continue reading “Daniel W. Lester Library Postcard Collection” →

We Thought We Heard the Angels Sing

Posted on by Cara Bertram
This is Our War - Let's Read about it!
Library promotional poster from World War II

For Veteran’s Day, the ALA Archives wanted to share how books can sometimes take us to strange and wonderful places.  James Whittaker’s We Thought We Heard the Angels Sing (a book about soldiers during WWII who survived a plane crash over the Pacific and were stranded on a life raft for weeks) took Suzanne Kelley and her students on a pursuit of knowledge that connected them with the WWII veterans from the book.  These veterans became a part of the students’ lives for years to come.  This is Ms. Kelley’s letter to the American Library Association from this past September: Continue reading “We Thought We Heard the Angels Sing” →

Knapp School Libraries Project

Posted on by Cara Bertram

In 1962, the Knapp Foundation, Inc., provided a $1,130,000 grant administered to the American Association of School Librarians (AASL), a division of ALA, to raise the standards of school libraries. At that time, school libraries in the United States were noted to be substandard. While federal funds helped to fund school libraries in 1958, the AASL realized that school libraries needed more than money to fix their problems. Improvements were needed in collection development, updates in technology, more staff, and renovations in facilities.

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A busy school library at Central Park Road School in Plainview, NY. RS: 99/1/18

The five year Knapp School Libraries Project started in 1963. The project had four objectives: The first was to demonstrate the educational value of school libraries. The second was to promote improved understanding and use of library resources by teachers and administrators. The third objective was to guide other libraries to develop their own programs by having them observe the demonstration schools. And the last objective was to increase interest and support for school library development by producing and circulating information about the program and the demonstration schools.[1] Continue reading “Knapp School Libraries Project” →