150TH ANNIVERSARY

FOR OUR LIBRARIES.
FOR 150 YEARS MORE.

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Since 1876 the American Library Association has championed access to information, defended free speech, & upheld the power 
of libraries to transform lives & strengthen democracy.

In 2026, we mark 150 years of standing up for libraries—and everything they make possible. This milestone isn’t just about looking back. It’s about rallying together to protect what matters now, and to imagine the libraries we’ll need for the next 150 years. Join us to reflect, connect, and act.

A VISUAL HISTORY OF READING, RESILIENCE, & REACH

Explore rarely seen images from the ALA Archives—snapshots of 150 years of librarianship, leadership, and community impact.

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A black and white photo of a military truck loaded with books and American flags. A sign on the back reads, "A.L.A. 5000000 BOOKS IN SERVICE, 1550 BRANCHES IN U.S. & FRONT." A soldier smiles from inside the truck.
A lively crowd gathered in front of a building decorated with balloons and a "GROUND BREAKING" banner. A vintage-style popcorn cart sits in the foreground. People appear to be celebrating a new opening.
A vintage photograph of a large room with ornate columns and high ceilings. Men and women are seen working at desks, reading, writing, and typing, capturing the bustling activity of a historical library office.
A black and white photo of a grand, multi-story mansion with a steep roof and intricate window moldings. A few cars are parked outside, and a tree without leaves stands in the front yard.
A barred glass display window featuring banned books and posters about censorship. The central sign promotes Banned Books Week (Sept 26 - Oct 3), with slogans like "Celebrate the Freedom to Read."
Two smiling women standing beside a person in a large costume of a monster character from “Where the Wild Things Are,” inside a modern building with floor-to-ceiling windows.
Four children in a classroom setting present favorite books in front of a display board labeled “OUR BOOK FRIENDS.” One girl holds up a drawing of a book titled "Peanuts the Pony."
A group of children proudly holding up books in front of a library building. Some stand beside or on a statue of a seated man. The children are smiling and appear to be celebrating reading
Children gathered in line near a bookmobile parked beside a building. Some hold books, while a boy runs past the camera holding multiple items. The background shows open landscape and mountains.
A bold poster with large red and black text reading, "CAUTION: THIS LIBRARY CONTAINS DANGEROUS BOOKS! Read at your own risk!" promoting Banned Books Week from September 10–17, 1983.
A black and white photo shows a young African American woman in glasses smiling as she checks out a book at a library counter. A librarian with long hair smiles back at her from behind the counter, next to a book charging machine.
Three African American children are shown in a library. A girl on the left smiles at the camera, a boy in the center reads a book, and an older boy on the right also reads a book. Bookshelves are filled with books
A smiling blonde woman, Dorothy Anderson, points to a large open book while sitting at a table with a young child, who is looking intently at the book. Bookshelves filled with books are in the background.
A black and white photo shows a horse-drawn "Pratt Library's Book Wagon" with bookshelves, from which a woman is selecting a book. A boy holds the horse's bridle, and several women and children are gathered around.
The cartoon character Garfield in a mascot costume stands between two men in suits, while a woman speaks at a podium to the left. A sign behind them reads "The Best Gift You'll Ever Give Your Child: A Library Card."
A black and white photo shows a young man and woman looking at a card catalog. The man is pulling out a card, while the woman points to a book. Bookshelves are visible in the background.
Inside a bookmobile, a woman in a light-colored dress reaches for a book on a shelf. Two children are seated nearby, reading books. Shelves filled with books line the walls of the vehicle.
Eight women, some dressed in saris, are posing together in front of a backdrop with the text "ALA International Relations Round Table Hospitality Booth" and several images.
Two smiling women, both named Judy (Judy Blume on the right with curly hair and a dark jacket, and Judy King on the left with short dark hair and a pink jacket), stand close together with their arms around each other, looking at the camera. Other people are blurred in the background.
A black and white photo captures a lively disco scene with many people dancing on a wooden floor in a large room.
A black and white photo shows a group of barefoot children, primarily of Asian descent, reading books outdoors near a large bookmobile with its side shelves open.
A black and white photo shows a group of children gathered around a bookmobile in a grassy outdoor setting, many holding books. A woman is standing near the open side of the bookmobile.
A black and white formal portrait shows a group of twenty-one individuals, mostly women in long dresses and a few men, posing for a "Library school class of 1890."
A black and white photo shows a librarian, wearing glasses and a white uniform, holding a book for a male patient who is lying in a hospital bed and also holding a book. A book cart is beside the bed.
A black and white photo shows a group of diverse children, many wearing hats, gathered around a woman who is reading a book aloud at a table in what appears to be a library.
A black and white photo shows a diverse group of children sitting on benches and chairs in front of bookshelves, attentively watching a woman who is holding up a book and reading to them.
A black and white photo shows a military bookmobile, labeled "PRESIDIO BOOKMOBILE," with several soldiers standing around it. In the background, a missile or rocket points skyward.
A color photo captures a "Rally for America's Libraries" event outdoors, featuring a stage with a speaker at a podium under a red, white, and blue balloon arch. Signs in the crowd advocate for library funding.
A black and white photo shows a young woman operating a large, boxy machine with a book placed on its surface and a separate control panel on the table. This is identified as a Kurzweil Reading Machine.
A black and white photo shows a group of elementary school-aged children, some wearing headphones, gathered around a large reel-to-reel tape recorder on a table. Two adult women are standing with them, observing.
A black and white photo shows a young woman with a smiling expression, seated on a wooden shelf filled with stacks of books. She is holding up a sign that reads "Victory Book Campaign - BOOKS FOR THE BOYS - DROP THEM HERE - Listen to Sidney Andorn - WGAR - 6:00 P.M. For Daily Totals."
A black and white photo shows a young person with short hair and glasses, wearing a plaid shirt and slacks, standing with their back to the camera. They are facing a display with early electronic equipment, including a monitor and a device with exposed wiring, and informational text on the wall above.

Get involved: 
Help Us Write the Next Chapter

Our 150th anniversary will include programs, celebrations, and moments of action—all powered by people like you. Whether you’re a lifelong librarian or a new member, your voice matters. Join the movement to make this a year of impact, not just remembrance.

VOLUNTEER

Get involved: 
Help Us Write the Next Chapter

Our 150th anniversary will include programs, celebrations, and moments of action—all powered by people like you. Whether you’re a lifelong librarian or a new member, your voice matters. Join the movement to make this a year of impact, not just remembrance.

VOLUNTEER

150 Years Strong

THE OFFICIAL ANNIVERSARY BLOG

Discover the people, policies, and pivotal moments that shaped the ALA—and the libraries we all rely on. Our anniversary blog is your behind-the-scenes look at the legacy we’re honoring and the future we’re building, with regular stories on how we’re celebrating.

Detail of letter from Virginia Hamilton to Anne Izard, February 24, 1972.

Newbery: Letters from the Authors

For more than a century, the American Library Association has honored children’s authors with the John Newbery Medal. From the earliest years of the award, its prestige was not lost upon the authors who received it. Letters written by awardees to the Newbery Medal Committee chairs reveal their excitement upon receiving the news.

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Agenda for the Children’s Librarians Section on June 27, 1922, including the first presentation of the John Newbery Medal.

Newbery: The First Medal

In 1921, Frederic Melcher, a publisher, bookseller, and chairman of the Children’s Book Week Committee, proposed the idea of a medal to be awarded in recognition of children’s literature and for it to be named after John Newbery, an 18th century British bookseller and children’s books publisher. With a growing audience for children’s books, more librarians being trained in children services, and the emergence of children’s book departments in publishing companies, the time seemed right for such an award and the idea gained traction.

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Caldecott Award Seal

The Caldecott Medal: ‘A Hasty Idea Thrown Out’

The Caldecott Medal is of one of the most prestigious children’s book awards in the world. Established in 1937 to recognize the most distinguished American picture book for children, the first medal was awarded in 1938 to Dorothy P. Lathrop for the book, “Animals of the Bible.” However, the idea was first presented in 1935 in a letter by Frederic G. Melcher.

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Left: Effie Power with Newbery medal, Los Angeles, 1930. Right: Rachel Field and Milton J. Ferguson. Ferguson announced to Field that “Hitty” was chosen to receive the Newbery Medal. Los Angeles Conference, 1930.

Celebrating the Newbery: ‘Publicity of the Best Kind’

Publicity around the Newbery Medal has drummed up excitement amongst librarians, readers, and the public for the past century. Often this has meant events, press releases, newsletters, radio programming, television broadcasts, and newspaper and magazine articles. However, some publicity ideas were more daring than press conferences and radio programs.

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Keynote speaker E.J. Josey speaking at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observation and Sunrise Celebration at the 2000 ALA Midwinter Meeting in San Antonio.

‘The Spiritual High Point’: The Dr. MLK Holiday Observation and Sunrise Celebration

The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observation and Sunrise Celebration celebrates the life and legacy of Dr. King, featuring a keynote speaker, representatives from National Associations of Librarians of Color, the ALA President, and the singing of “We Shall Overcome.” The celebration started in 2000, but efforts to observe the MLK Jr. Holiday during ALA’s Midwinter Meeting started long before.

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Sibert Medal

Twenty-Five Years of the Sibert Medal

As the American Library Association celebrates its 150th birthday this year, one of the Association’s prestigious book awards also reaches a milestone anniversary. For 25 years, the Robert F. Sibert International Book Medal has been awarded annually to the author(s) and illustrator(s) of the most distinguished non-fiction informational book published in the United States in English during the preceding year.

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Librarians in Nantucket, Massachusetts, 1906. From the F. W. Faxon Collection in the ALA Archives.

For 150 Years

As ALA celebrates 150 years, we are called not only to reflect but to act. Our century-and-a-half legacy is a testament to the resilience and ingenuity of librarians and library workers everywhere.

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Crowd at the Atlanta March for Social Justice and Women. Photo: George M. Eberhart/American Libraries

Librarians on the March

A mass of enthusiastic demonstrators took part in the Atlanta March for Social Justice and Women held on January 21, 2017, during the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting and Exhibits. A contingent of at least 200 librarians participated, brandishing signs like “Make America read again” and “Keep your hands off my area studies.”

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Meet Me in St. Louis

October 17–22, 1904, was “American Library Association Week” at the St. Louis World’s Fair, formally known as the Louisiana Purchase Exposition in commemoration of President Thomas Jefferson’s acquisition of the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803. Like many other organizations, ALA saw the fair as a wonderful opportunity to hold its annual meeting in a historic venue that offered unlimited educational benefits.

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Restoring a Piece of ALA History

In 1926, Boston Public Library presented the American Library Association (ALA) with a scrapbook of letters, postcards, and documents tracing the origins of the Librarians’ Conference of 1876, the start of the association. It has now been restored thanks to the ALA Archives at the University of Illinois.

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