Florida Library Association

Last updated
Florida Library Association
NicknameFLA
Formation1920;104 years ago (1920)
59-1159907
HeadquartersTallahassee, FL
LeaderJennifer Abdelnour, Executive Director
Parent organization
 American Library Association
Website www.flalib.org

The Florida Library Association (FLA) is a regional, non-profit organization that promotes professional discourse and opportunities for the library community in Florida. [1] The FLA publishes the Florida Libraries Journal. [2]

Contents

History

The Florida Library Association began meeting in 1906, [3] but it was officially formed in 1920 by Helen Virginia Stelle, director of the Tampa Public Library. [4] [5] In addition to its publication, Florida Libraries, the FLA provides a forum for issues and advocacy. [1]

Prior to any formal organization, the first state-wide assembly of Florida librarians took place in December 1906 in St. Augustine. On April 26 and 27, 1920, the Florida Library Association was officially established. [6]

The institution started out with 23 charter members whose primary goal was to embolden the state government, to establish a state library agency, and to endorse legislation that allowed for counties to establish their own libraries within their own communities. [7] They were successful in their efforts, and in 1925 the state library was established. In 1931 a county library law was sanctioned. The first chairman and then-president of the Florida Library Association was Helen Virginia Stelle. [7]

Each year since 1920, with the exception of 1943-1945 (due to WWII), the conference has taken place in various libraries throughout the state. This federation and assembly of Florida librarians have brought about progress in discourse, activism, and forward-thinking adaptations to the way libraries function throughout the state. [7] Themes which over its history have informed the FLA assembly, its mission, and its activism include “The Enlightened South” in 1966, “Threshold of a New Decade” in 1969, libraries as a “Renewable Resource” in 1986, and “Diverse Libraries to Serve Floridians” in 2000.

The 1935 Florida Library Survey statement demonstrates the FLA’s commitment to its mission by indicating that the organization “must take the lead to inform citizens of the desirability of library service to meet their practical and cultural needs.” [7]

List of presidents

YearPresident
2024Jorge Perez
2023Douglas Crane
2022Shane Roopnarine
2021Phyllis Gorshe
2020Laura Spears
2019Eric Head
2018Sarah J. Hammill
2017Elana Karshmer
2016Gene Coppola
2015Linda McCarthy
2014Gladys Roberts
2013Barbara J. Stites
2012Gloria Colvin
2011John Callahan
2010Wendy Breeden
2009Mercedes Clement
2008Charlie Parker
2007Sol Hirsch
2006Nancy Pike
2005Derrie Perez
2004 John Szabo
2003Marta Westall
2002Betty Johnson
2001Mary Brown
2000Madison Mosley
1999Mary Jane Little
1998Patricia DeSalvo
1997Eileen Cobb
1996Elizabeth Curry
1995Helen Moeller
1994Susan Anderson
1993Ann Williams
1992Alphonse Trezza
1991Linda O'Connor-Levy
1990Thomas Reitz
1989Althea Jenkins
1988John D. Hales
1987Lydia Acosta
1986James Wheeler
1985John McCrossan
1984Jean Rhein
1983Harold Goldstein
1982Ada Seltzer
1981 Samuel F. Morrison
1979-1980Bernadette Storck
1979John DePew
1978Glenn Miller
1977Eloise Harbeson
1976Ed Sintz
1975Virginia Grazier
1974Dennis Robison
1973David Kantor
1972Leo Meirose
1971Lynn Walker
1970Cecil Beach
1969DeLyle Runge
1968Verna Nistendirk
1967Elizabeth B. Mann
1966Margaret Chapman
1965Harry Brinton
1964Thomas Dreier
1963Ruth Rockwood
1962Betty S. Lunnon
1961Elliott Hardaway
1960Frank B. Sessa
1959Archie L. McNeal
1958Helen L. Keepfe
1957Dorothy Dodd
1956Elizabeth Peeler
1955William Frieze
1954Dr. Louis Shores
1953Alice Pearce
1952Paul A.T. Noon
1951Clara E. Wendel
1950Stanley L. West
1949Sara Malcolm Krentzman
1948Betty W. Service
1947Ida Kelley Cresap
1945-1946Eulah Mae Snider
1943-1944Wesley Summers
1942Bertha Aldrich
1941Olive Brumbaugh
1940R.W. Severance
1939Henrie Mae Eddy
1937-1938Mary Bright
1936Carl Bohnenberger
1934-1935William F. Yust
1932-1933Louise Richardson
1931 Helen V. Stelle
1929-1930Joseph F. Marron
1928Olive Brumbaugh
1926-1927Anne VanNess Brown
1924-1925Cora Miltimore
1923Louise Gamsby
1922 Helen V. Stelle
1921Joseph F. Marron
1920 Helen V. Stelle (Convener)
1907-1910 George Burwell Utley
1905-1906Carolyn Palmer

[8]

Advocacy

The FLA addresses important and impactful issues that affect Florida's libraries and intellectual freedom. [9] Its Statement on Professional Education states that Librarians and Library Directors must have a master's degree in Library and Information Sciences or Studies to uphold professional standards. The Statement on Privatization of Publicly-Supported Libraries advocates that efforts to privatize libraries by for-profit organizations should be opposed.

The FLA organizes an annual Library Legislative Day during which librarians, library advocates, and other supporters meet both virtually and in person at the Florida State Capitol in Tallahassee to speak with legislators in order to raise awareness of library issues. [10] [11]

In 2024 Vice President/President-Elect Jorge Perez flew to Washington, DC to participate in the Chief Officers of State Library Agencies "Voices for Libraries event." [12]

Friends of Florida Libraries Honor Roll

The Friends of Florida Libraries Honor Roll supports FLA advocacy activities within the state government. Every year, the Friends of Florida Libraries sponsors a Library Day in Tallahassee in order to advocate for funding, library related legislation, and awareness. [13] [14]

Scholarships

The FLA provides multiple scholarships annually for students to enroll in programs of library and information science. [15]


Court cases

In 2006, the FLA filed an amicus curiae memorandum in the United States District Court in support of an ACLU and Miami-Dade Student Government Association lawsuit. The Miami-Dade County School Board removed the book Vamos a Cuba and "A Visit to..." book series from the Miami-Dade School Board libraries and classrooms. In early 2009, the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the decision to return the book to the school libraries. [9] [16]

Censorship issues

The FLA supports the Florida Association for Media in Education (FAME) in their opposition to filed Florida legislation HB855 and SB1454, which has been criticized by the National Coalition Against Censorship for weakening First Amendment rights to freedom of speech by "authorizing any Florida resident (even if they have no connection to a particular school or library) to sue for injunctions to remove material they deem controversial and burden school districts with legal fees and court action." [17]

Public awareness tools

The FLA works to show the benefits of Florida's libraries. On their website, the Association promotes several tools and information sources, including Return on Investment information, data to support advocacy messages, Access Studies, and recommended readings. [18] [19]


Archives

Bernadette E. Storck- Florida Library Association Past President and Archivist Bernadette E. Storck-Alice G.Smith Lecture-School of Information, University of South Florida, Tampa.jpg
Bernadette E. Storck- Florida Library Association Past President and Archivist

The Florida Library Association records are available for research at the University of South Florida Libraries Tampa Special Collections. The collection consists of 144 boxes of historical research material and institutional records, ranging from 1905 to 2015. Included in the repository are meeting minutes, treasurer's reports, conference programs, planning material, newspaper clippings, photographs, committee records, and other associated subject files. They were organized by Bernadette E. Storck, 1979-1980 FLA president. The collection is available to affiliated University of South Florida researchers and the general public. [20]



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References

  1. 1 2 "FLA Mission Statement". flalib.org. Archived from the original on 2013-09-11. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  2. ↑ "Florida Libraries". flalib.org. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2013-09-02.
  3. ↑ Urbec, Karen. “The History of the Florida Library Association Is a Story of Service, Devotion, and Hard Work.” Florida Libraries 63, no. 1 (Spring 2020): 20–23.
  4. ↑ Storck, Bernadette (2006). "From the FLA Archives: a Collection of Events, Facts and Personages from the Past". Florida Libraries. 49 (2): 23.
  5. ↑ Gebhardt, Maria. 2014. “The Florida Library Association: A Century of Leadership, Advocacy, and Communication.” Florida Libraries 57 (2): 5–10.
  6. ↑ Pearia, Alicia A. (2007). "Preserving the Past: Library Development in Florida and the New Deal, 1933-1942". Florida State University: 56.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Urbec, K. (2020). The History of the Florida Library Association is a story of service, devotion, and hard Work. Florida Libraries, 63(1), 20–23.
  8. ↑ "Presidential and Conference History". Florida Library Association. Archived from the original on March 25, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "FLA on the Issues". flalib.org. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  10. ↑ "FLA Home Page". flalib.org.
  11. ↑ Grunenwald, Jill (2023-03-31). "OverDrive stands with libraries at Florida Library Legislative Day". OverDrive. Retrieved 2024-09-09.
  12. ↑ Abdelnour, Jennifer K. “From the Executive Director.” Florida Libraries 66, no. 1 (Spring 2024): 7–8.
  13. ↑ "Honor Roll Campaign". flalib.org. Archived from the original on 2013-09-28. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  14. ↑ "Library Day at the Legislature". flalib.org. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  15. ↑ O'Donnell, Lisa. "2019 Scholarship Information". fla.memberclicks.net. Retrieved 2018-10-25.
  16. ↑ "American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, Incorporated, Miami-Dad County Student Government Association versus Miami-Dade County School Board, Rudolph F. Crew" (PDF). United States Court of Appeals Eleventh Circuit. February 5, 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2014. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  17. ↑ "Florida Students Threatened by Proposed Censorship Legislation" (PDF). National Coalition Against Censorship. Archived from the original (PDF) on June 24, 2021. Retrieved August 21, 2022.
  18. ↑ "FLorida Public Library ROI - Home". state.fl.us. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  19. ↑ "FLA Public Awareness Tools". flalib.org. Archived from the original on 2013-11-13. Retrieved 2013-11-06.
  20. ↑ University of South Florida Libraries - Special Collections (2020). "Guide to the Florida Library Association records, 1905-2015".
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