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. One curious suspect of this scrutiny was Consumers Union, publisher of Consumer Reports, the product testing and consumer advocacy magazine. In the late 1930s, Consumers Union faced unsubstantiated accusations of communism.[1] Despite the fruitless claims, Consumers Union was placed on a list of subversive organizations by the House Un-American Activities Committee in 1944. In 1951, representatives from the Better Business ..read more

Starting early this fall, as the ALA Archives Graduate Assistant, I had the privilege of transcribing the oral history of Eldon Ray James, retired librarian, formerly incarcerated person, and advocate for the rights of incarcerated people. After transcribing over three hours of dialogue between Ray James and Deputy County Librarian at the Alameda County Library, Deb Sica, I believe I just got paid to listen to the most interesting story I’ve ever heard. Ray James, before becoming a figurehead in the movement to secure information access for incarcerated people in the United States, served in G ..read more

Fifty years ago on this day, ALA announced the transfer of its archives to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The genesis of the ALA Archives can be arguably traced back to 1910 with the acceptance of the S. Grant Hastings Papers and to the 1940s when serious discussions at headquarters on how to deal with their archives started. However, it is with establishment of the archives at the University of Illinois that an organized and accessible archives was realized. Since the initial transfer of materials in 1973, the archives has seen significant growth in its collection, digital re ..read more

Emily Wheelock Reed The Rabbits’ Wedding, by Garth Williams, is a children’s book about two rabbits getting married in a forest. While there doesn’t seem to be much to object about the book, in 1959, Alabama State Senator E.O. Eddins wanted it removed from Alabama public libraries. The reason was because the rabbits in the story were of different fur colors, black and white, and he viewed it as “integration propaganda.” Emily Wheelock Reed, the Director of the Public Library Service Division of Alabama, met with Eddins and the Alabama State Senate Interim Taxation Committee to discuss the upco ..read more

Out of the Vault is the newsletter of the University Archives, which covers the activities and staff of the archives and its programs, including the American Library Association Archives! The Summer 2023 issue can be found here: https://emails.illinois.edu/newsletter/35/343747435.html.  ALA Archives Notes is an addendum blog post to the newsletter with additional information relating to the ALA Archives. University Archivist Maynard Brichford and graduate assistant Harriet Alexander with an accession of archival materials from ALA headquarters. As noted at the top of the Summer ..read more

The ALA Archives is excited to display materials on intellectual freedom at the ALA Annual Conference this year! This exhibit will run from Friday afternoon through Sunday morning by the ALA members lounge, near the exhibit hall. However, we know that not everyone will get a chance to view the exhibit or look at the documents as carefully as they would like. This blog post will give you a chance to enjoy the exhibit materials remotely, and perhaps even see documents that didn’t make it into the case. Click on the images to view the documents closer or to access the full version of the item. Wh ..read more

Ling Hwey Jeng and Ken Yamashita, Planning Committee co-chairs. In 2001, the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association (APALA) and the Chinese American Librarians Association (CALA) partnered to host the first and only National Conference on Asian/Pacific American Librarians. It was held before to the ALA Annual Conference and took place in San Francisco with programming running from June 13-15. The theme, Shared Visions: Heritages, Scholarship, Progress, was chosen “with a sincere commitment to representing the rich diversity of East, South and Southeast Asian and Pacific American ethnici ..read more

Out of the Vault is the newsletter of the University Archives, which covers the activities and staff of the archives and its programs, including the American Library Association Archives! The first issue can be found here: https://emails.illinois.edu/newsletter/43/391280343.html. ALA Archives Notes is an addendum blog post to the newsletter with additional information relating to the ALA Archives. As noted in the Spring 2023 issue of Out of the Vault, University Archivist Emeritus William Maher received the Midwest Archives Conference’s Emeritus Membership Award. Professor Maher retired f ..read more

One fixture of ALA’s Midwinter Meeting, and now the LibLearnX conference, is the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observation and Sunrise Celebration. The event 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 the Midwinter Meeting started long before. Keynote speaker E.J. Josey speaking at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Observation and Sunrise Celebration ..read more

Portrait of ALA Executive Director Elizabeth Martinez Found in 12/1/4, Box 2, Folder: Martinez, Elizabeth, 1995-97 Who was one of the first Mexican American librarians in California? Who was one of the co-founders of REFORMA, the National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking? Who was the first Mexican American women to hold the office of ALA Executive Director? If you answered, “Elizabeth Martinez,” you’d be correct! Elizabeth Martinez was born on April 14, 1943 in Pomona, California. Growing up in Orange County, she always wanted to pro ..read more