Library History Round Table

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The Library History Round Table encourages research and publication on library history and promotes awareness and discussion of historical issues in librarianship. It "exists to facilitate communication among scholars and students of library history, to support research in library history, and to be active in issues, such as preservation, that concern library historians." [1] It is part of the American Library Association.

Contents

Louis Shores and Wayne Shirley were instrumental in founding the Library History Round Table in 1947. [2]

The American Library Association archives were established with input and support by the Library History Round Table. [3]

Publications

The Library History Round Table's official peer-reviewed journal is Libraries: Culture, History, and Society. [4]

LHRT News and Notes is the blog of the Library History Round Table. [5]

Database of Library History

The Library History Round Table publishes the "Bibliography of Library History" database. [6] The database contains over 7,000 entries for books, articles, and theses in library history and related fields published since 1990.

Awards

The Justin Winsor Prize is awarded for the year's best library history essay. The award was established in 1978 and named for the American Library Association's first president, Justin Winsor, a writer, historian, and the long-time librarian at Harvard University. Honorees have included Steven Knowlton, Jennifer Burek Pierce, Robert S. Martin, Wayne A. Wiegand and John V. Richardson Jr.

The Eliza Atkins Gleason Book Award is presented every third year to recognize the best book written in English in the field of library history, including the history of libraries, librarianship, and book culture. [7] The award is named after Eliza Atkins Gleason, the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in librarianship in 1940 at the University of Chicago Graduate Library School. Honorees have included Louise Robbins, Christine Pawley, and Mary Niles Maack.

Additional Reading

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References

  1. LHRT Library History Round Table.
  2. Marshall, John David. 2000. “The Library History Round Table’s First Twenty-Five Years: Reminiscences and Remarks.” Libraries & Culture 35 (1): 41.
  3. Brichford, Maynard. “Current Status of the American Library Association Archives: A Preliminary Report.” The Journal of Library History (1974) 12.1 (1977): 64–69.
  4. LHRT Journal Libraries: Culture, History, and Society American Library Association. Library History Round Table.
  5. LHRT News and Notes American Library Association. Library History Round Table.
  6. Bibliography of Library History American Library Association, Library History Round Table, April 24, 2024.
  7. Julia Skinner (2012-01-13). "Eliza Atkins Gleason Book Award". Round Tables. Retrieved 2024-02-22.