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American Library Association

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
founded 1876, organization whose purpose is to increase the usefulness of books through the improvement and extension of library services. As the major professional association for librarians and libraries, it seeks to maintain high standards for all branches of library service through functions ranging from the accreditation of library training schools to the recognition of outstanding books. The association was involved in early attempts to expand library services to all people. It supported public access to library shelves, tax-supported libraries, books made available for home loan, and research libraries sponsored by the government and major educational institutions. It fosters joint programs with the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. It has a long-standing policy of opposition to censorship, the banning of books, and violations of the user's right to confidentiality in the selection of reading materials. The organization, based in Chicago, had 58,777…
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founded 1876, organization whose purpose is to increase the usefulness of books through the improvement and extension of library services. As the major professional association for librarians and libraries, it seeks to maintain high standards for all branches of library service through functions…
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Full text Article AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION (ALA)

From Historical Dictionary of the Lesbian and Gay Liberation Movements
The first professional organization to have a Lesbian and Gay Task Force (1970). The task force was coordinated by Barbara Gittings from its inception until 1986. The task force and the ALA were influential in shaping all libraries’ holdings; presenting critiques of reference and other books with…
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Full text Article American Library Association

From Chambers Dictionary of Great Quotations
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Full text Article American Library Association (ALA)

From The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature
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Full text Article Josey, Elonnie J (1924–)

From Freedom Facts and Firsts: 400 Years of the African American Civil Rights Experience
The first African American male to be elected president of the American Library Association (ALA), Elonnie J. Josey, known as "E. J.," took his activist spirit with him when he accepted that high office. He has spoken out against racism in the library profession and in society as a whole. A native…
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Full text Article Dewey, Melvil(le Louis Kossuth)

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
(born Dec. 10, 1851, Adams Center, N.Y., U.S.—died Dec. 26, 1931, Lake Placid, Fla.) U.S. librarian. He graduated from Amherst College in 1874, whereupon he became acting librarian there. In 1876 he published A Classification and Subject Index for Cataloguing and Arranging the Books and Pamphlets of…
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Full text Article Scieszka, Jon (1954–)

From The Oxford Companion to Fairy Tales
American picture-book author who satirizes folk and fairy tales with a humorous postmodern twist. The True Story of the Three Little Pigs by A. Wolf (1989) parodies the traditional villain as an unreliable narrator, while The *Frog Prince , Continued (1991) challenges the premiss of living ‘happily…
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Full text Article Children's Libraries in the United States

From The SAGE Encyclopedia of Children and Childhood Studies
Children's libraries in the U.S. context consist of specialized collections, services, staff, and spaces designed to meet the literacy, personal development, and community learning needs of children and adolescents. Usually existing within the publicly sourced operating budget and space of schools…
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Full text Article Milam, Carl Hastings

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
US librarian. He was director of the Birmingham Public Library in Alabama (1913–19), where he opened the first branch for service to African-Americans. During World War I, he was assistant director and then general director of the American Library Association's Library War Service (1917–20). In 1920…
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