Since ALA headquarters moved in 2020 to its present location at Chicago’s 225 North Michigan Avenue, ALA Librarian Colleen Barbus has presided over a completely reimagined in-house library.
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.
Since ALA headquarters moved in 2020 to its present location at Chicago’s 225 North Michigan Avenue, ALA Librarian Colleen Barbus has presided over a completely reimagined in-house library.
Blazing Trails: Stories from Pioneering Black Librarians
In 2018, American Libraries spoke with five leading African-American librarians about their careers, the changes they have witnessed over the decades, and the current issues in librarianship. While no two people have the same story, all five interviewees note inclusivity as an important theme. They discuss libraries as safe havens, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the history and future of the Association, as well as their legacies within the profession.
Posters of Progress: Mapping ALA’s History Through Library Poster Art
From wartime appeals to celebrity-studded reading campaigns, library posters have long captured the evolving role of libraries in American life. This feature traces ALA’s history through some of its most iconic visuals. Together, these images chart a story of the profession’s unflinching ideals of access, literacy, and intellectual freedom, showcasing how libraries continue to reimagine their place in public life.
A Seat at the Table: Reflections from Eight ALA Trailblazers
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.
55 Moments That Redefined Librarianship
As the American Library Association (ALA) celebrates 150 years, we’re drawing inspiration from key events since its 1876 founding: from the first conventions and library schools, through wartime and the fight for civil rights, to seismic technological advancements and the existential threats of the current moment. Though not a comprehensive timeline of library history, the milestones collected here demonstrate lasting impact and how libraries and the profession are intertwined with the American story itself—as repositories of memory, arenas of debate, and enduring instruments of democratic life.
Library History and Women’s History: An Ongoing Convergence
The Woman’s Building Library at the 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition achieved a milestone and was an impressive harbinger for the intersection of librarianship, women’s history, community service, public policy, and international relations. And it was only the beginning.
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.”
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.
Bringing Harassment Out of the History Books
In this 2018 article, Anne Ford explores how the library profession has reckoned—or failed to reckon—with Melvil Dewey’s history of racism, exclusion, and sexual misconduct.