150 YEARS STRONG

Clara S. Jones: ‘Awareness is Not Burdened with Repression; It Is Liberating’

During the 1975 American Library Association Annual (ALA) Conference, Clara Stanton Jones was announced as the vice president and president-elect of ALA. Her term as president would start during the ALA’s 1976 Centennial Conference, a fitting celebration for the first African American president of the Association.

Her experience as director of the Detroit Public Library and personality made her well suited for the position of ALA president. E. J. Josey noted that: “Her years of service in the trenches in Detroit before being appointed director of the library system provided her with management skills as well as a desire to love and serve her fellow human beings.”[1] Jones’ career took her all over the world, but most of her activities were community driven, working on the revitalization and cultural development of Detroit.[2]

Clara Stanton Jones
Clara Stanton Jones

Jones’ presidency saw the passing of the ALA’s “Resolution on Racism and Sexism Awareness.” However, it was asked to be rescinded during the 1977 Midwinter Meeting over concerns that it conflicted with the Library Bill of Rights. Jones felt that “wisdom prevailed” when the request for rescinding the resolution was changed to studying it with the input of all ALA units. Later, Jones wrote that “[t]he spirit of the ‘Resolution on Racism and Sexism Awareness’ is not burdened with repression; it is liberating. If the resolution is imperfect, try to make it perfect, but not by destroying it first!”[3] She was not frustrated by the criticism of the resolution and was open to improvements, but felt strongly against getting rid of it completely.

During the 1977 Detroit Annual Conference, Jones passed on the presidency to ALA Vice President Eric Moon. Moon said that his year as ALA’s vice president was one of “learning from [Jones’] warmth, humanity, courage, and style.”[4] His words reflected the impact Jones had on her colleagues and would continue to have for years to come.

Clara Jones embracing Virginia L. Jones, after V. Jones received an Honorary Membership of ALA during the 1976 ALA Conference.
Clara Jones embracing Virginia L. Jones, after V. Jones received an Honorary Membership of ALA during the 1976 ALA Conference.

In 1978, Jones retired from the Detroit Public Library, but her contributions to the profession did not end there. She was appointed to the National Commission on Libraries and Information Services by President Jimmy Carter, which she served from 1978 to 1982.[5] By the end of her career, Jones had received nine honorary doctorates and an ALA Honorary Membership, the highest honor of the Association.

Citations

1. “To Be Black and a Librarian: Talking with E. J. Josey,” American Libraries, vol. 31, no. 1 (January, 2000), p. 82.

2. News Release, 1975. Biographical Information, 1963-1998, Record Series 12/1/4, Box 1, Folder: Jones, Clara Stanton. American Library Association Archives.

3. Clara Stanton Jones, “Liberating, Not Repressive: ALA President Views the Racism/Sexism Resolution,” American Libraries, vol. 8, no. 5 (May, 1977), 244-245.

4. “In the News,” American Libraries, vol. 8, no. 8 (Sep., 1977), pp. 405-407, 413.

5. “Library Mentor and Pioneer Clara Stanton Jones Dies,” American Libraries, October 3, 2012, http://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/blogs/the-scoop/library-mentor-and-pioneer-clara-stanton-jones-dies/.

 

This story first appeared on the ALA Archives blog February 26, 2016.

150 YEARS STRONG

THE OFFICIAL ANNIVERSARY BLOG

An index card tracking an ALA conference exhibition hall exhibitor from 1924-1947.

The Heartbeat of the Hall: 150 Years of Exhibitors Who Shaped Our Conference

ALA Conference Services June 3, 2026

Every year as the doors of ALA’s Annual Conference and Exhibition swing open, the exhibition hall comes alive. It is a ritual that has been repeated, refined, and reimagined throughout ALA’s 150-year history. And at the center of it all, providing the innovations, solutions, and partnerships that have propelled our profession forward, are the exhibitors. To mark this milestone, we look back at the rich history of exhibitors at the conference—where it began, how it grew, and why, 150 years on, the exhibition floor remains one of the most vital spaces in our professional world.

Librarian at the Reference Desk in Camp Johnston Library, from the ALA Archives.

Charles R. Green at Camp Johnston: ‘We Can Find Such a Man’

Cara Bertram May 28, 2026

During the summer of 1918, Charles Green, a librarian from the Massachusetts Agriculture College, served as the Acting Librarian for Camp Johnston in Jacksonville, Florida. While his tenure was brief, the Charles R. Green Papers in the American Library Association (ALA) Archives reveal Green’s rapid appointment and promotion. It also shows how quickly circumstances could change within the ALA’s Library War Service and the adaptability of its volunteers.

Detail of letter from Lynn Blaylock to the Intellectual Freedom Committee.

‘Nothing Could Have Astonished Me More’: The Challenge of Consumer Reports

Cara Bertram May 21, 2026

Due to communist hysteria before and after World War II, many organizations and publications were under suspicion of being affiliated with or promoting the Communist party, including Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, the product testing and consumer advocacy magazine. As a result, Ohio schools banned the use of Consumer Reports in the classroom. While the ban was short-lived, the questions about it were not and the ALA Intellectual Freedom Committee noticed the attempts to ban the publication.

A detail from the Library Bill of Rights, 1967.

The History of the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund

Faith McConnon May 19, 2026

To financially support librarians who have been denied employment rights or discriminated against on the basis of gender, sexual orientation, race, color, creed, religion, age, disability, or place of national origin or denied employment rights because of their defense of intellectual freedom, ALA created the LeRoy C. Merritt Humanitarian Fund, named in honor of a staunch defender of intellectual freedom and editor of ALA’s Newsletter on Intellectual Freedom.

A Seat at the Table feature graphic

A Seat at the Table: Reflections from Eight ALA Trailblazers

American Libraries May 14, 2026

For 150 years, the American Library Association has shaped the landscape of libraries and the profession itself—but its leadership has often reflected the racial and gender biases of society at large. American Libraries spoke with eight barrier-busting Association leaders about their struggles, triumphs, breakdowns, and breakthroughs. The stories and lessons they share reveal how diversity fuels and transforms the power of libraries everywhere.