LHRT Leadership, Programs, and Awards, 1998–2023

In 1998, in celebration of LHRT’s fiftieth anniversary, Andrew B. Wertheimer and John David Marshall compiled a chronology of the round table’s activities covering 1947 to 1997.1 This year, in celebration of LHRT’s seventy-fifth anniversary, I have attempted to update their record down to the present day (2023). What follows is reconstructed from back issues of LHRT Newsletter and LHRT News and Notes; announcements and meeting minutes posted on ALA Connect; election reports and other information on LHRT and ALA websites; individuals’ online CVs and social media profiles; and my own records and personal recollections. I also shared a draft with current LHRT members via email and encouraged them to review and correct my work. I contacted many past officers and conference speakers to confirm details. Andrew Wertheimer, Jenny Bossaller, and Steve Sowards deserve special thanks for filling in gaps across multiple years of entries.Over the past twenty-five years, LHRT has grown significantly in organizational complexity, including new committees, such as the Membership and Outreach Committee, and new positions, such as webmaster, social media coordinator, journal editor, and LHRT ALA councilor. While appreciative of all LHRT’s volunteers, LCHS does not have enough space to acknowledge everyone who has led committees or initiatives, nor can we name the dozens of other colleagues who have helped LHRT to prosper over the decades. Thus, the “Leadership” section below only lists elected officers. We must thank dozens of unnamed volunteers who have helped the round table thrive, plus the ALA staff liaisons who assisted us along the way: Mary Jo Lynch (ca. 1997–2003), Denise M. Davis (ca. 2004–2006, 2008–2010), Letitia Earvin (ca. 2006–2008), Norman Rose (ca. 2010–2015), Kelsey Henke (ca. 2016–2017), and Danielle M. Ponton (ca. 2018–present). Thank you, everyone!In the last two and a half decades, LHRT’s educational, research, and outreach programs have developed substantially as well. On the awards side, there are now prizes for books, journal articles, and service, joining the previously established recognitions for unpublished essays and dissertations. Adding to the annual Research Forum and quinquennial Library History Seminar that existed as of the late 1990s, LHRT has offered Chair’s Programs or Invited Speakers Programs, an annual Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture, occasional cosponsorship of conference sessions organized by other units of the American Library Association, and, most recently, a bimonthly LHRT Reads book discussion group. While all of these events have been included to the best of my knowledge, the round table has also organized occasional informal gatherings, such as library tours and social dinners, which are not listed below.The proliferation of officers, committees, programs, and awards speaks positively to the growth of the round table and the increasing diversity of people who can find a home within it. At seventy-five years old, LHRT has much to celebrate, and I hope that it continues to bring more people into its fold.Chair: Louise S. Robbins, University of Wisconsin–MadisonSecretary-Treasurer: [vacant]Member-at-Large: Christine A. Jenkins, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignMember-at-Large: Holly G. Willett, Rowan UniversityChair: David M. Hovde, Purdue UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Steven W. Sowards, Michigan State UniversityMember-at-Large: Holly G. Willett, Rowan UniversityMember-at-Large: Lee Shifflet, Louisiana State UniversityChair: Sibyl E. Moses, Library of CongressSecretary-Treasurer: Holly G. Willett, Rowan UniversityMember-at-Large: Lee Shiflett, Louisiana State UniversityMember-at-Large: Plummer Alston Jones, Catawba CollegeChair: Cheryl Knott Malone, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignSecretary-Treasurer: Andrew B. Wertheimer, University of Wisconsin–MadisonMember-at-Large: Plummer Alston Jones, Catawba CollegeMember-at-Large: Melanie A. Kimball, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChair: Michèle V. Cloonan, University of California, Los AngelesSecretary-Treasurer: Andrew B. Wertheimer, University of Wisconsin–MadisonMember-at-Large: Melanie A. Kimball, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignMember-at-Large: Richard E. Rubin, Kent State UniversityChair: Christine A. Jenkins, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignSecretary-Treasurer: Patterson Toby Graham, University of Southern MississippiMember-at-Large: Richard E. Rubin, Kent State UniversityMember-at-Large: Christine J. Pawley, University of IowaChair: Joy A. Kingsolver, Spertus Institute for Jewish StudiesSecretary-Treasurer: Plummer Alston Jones, Eastern Carolina UniversityMember-at-Large: Christine J. Pawley, University of IowaMember-at-Large: Debra L. Hansen, San Jose State UniversityChair: Jean L. Preer, Indiana University–Purdue University IndianapolisSecretary-Treasurer: Kenneth J. Potts, California State University, StanislausMember-at-Large: Debra L. Hansen, San Jose State UniversityMember-at-Large: David M. Hovde, Purdue UniversityChair: Christine J. Pawley, University of Wisconsin–MadisonSecretary-Treasurer: Melanie A. Kimball, State University of New York, University at BuffaloMember-at-Large: David M. Hovde, Purdue UniversityMember-at-Large: Bernadette A. Lear, Penn State HarrisburgChair: Andrew B. Wertheimer, University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaSecretary-Treasurer: Allison M. Sutton, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignMember-at-Large: Suzanne M. Stauffer, Louisiana State UniversityMember-at-Large: Mary Elizabeth Barbosa-Jerez, University of LouisvilleChair: Mary Niles Maack, University of California, Los AngelesSecretary-Treasurer: Bernadette A. Lear, Penn State HarrisburgMember-at-Large: Mary Elizabeth Barbosa-Jerez, University of LouisvilleMember-at-Large: Thomas Glynn, Rutgers UniversityChair: Kenneth J. Potts, California State University, StanislausSecretary-Treasurer: Suzanne M. Stauffer, Louisiana State UniversityMember-at-Large: Thomas Glynn, Rutgers UniversityMember-at-Large: David B. Gracy II, University of Texas at AustinChair: Bernadette A. Lear, Penn State HarrisburgSecretary-Treasurer: Lorna Peterson, State University of New York, University at BuffaloMember-at-Large: David B. Gracy II, University of Texas at AustinMember-at-Large: Maurice C. York, Eastern Carolina UniversityChair: Melanie A. Kimball, Simmons UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Mark L. McCallon, Abilene Christian UniversityMember-at-Large: Maurice C. York, Eastern Carolina UniversityMember-at-Large: Eric C. Novotny, Penn StateChair: Thomas Glynn, Rutgers UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Joyce M. Latham, University of Wisconsin–MilwaukeeMember-at-Large: Eric C. Novotny, Penn StateMember-at-Large: Karen Joyce Cook, Clarion UniversityChair: Mark L. McCallon, Abilene Christian UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Dominique R. Daniel, Oakland UniversityMember-at-Large: Karen Joyce Cook, McNeese State University / State Library of LouisianaMember-at-Large: Julia C. Skinner, Florida State UniversityChair: Bernadette A. Lear, Penn State HarrisburgSecretary-Treasurer: Ellen M. Pozzi, William Paterson UniversityMember-at-Large: Julia C. Skinner, Florida State UniversityMember-at-Large: Cindy Welch, University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleChair: Dominique R. Daniel, Oakland UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Karen Joyce Cook, Clarion University / Ellen M. Pozzi, William Paterson UniversityMember-at-Large: Cindy Welch, University of Tennessee, KnoxvilleMember-at-Large: Suzanne M. Stauffer, Louisiana State UniversityChair: Eric C. Novotny, Penn StateSecretary-Treasurer: Nancy Barker DuPree, University of AlabamaMember-at-Large: Suzanne M. Stauffer, Louisiana State UniversityMember-at-Large: Jenny S. Bossaller, University of Missouri-ColumbiaChair: Ellen M. Pozzi, William Paterson UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Karl Pettitt, Northern Illinois UniversityMember-at-Large: Jenny S. Bossaller, University of Missouri-ColumbiaMember-at-Large: Marek Sroka, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignChair: Suzanne M. Stauffer, Louisiana State UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Michael Stuart Hunter, Brigham Young UniversityMember-at-Large: Marek Sroka, University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignMember-at-Large: Emily D. Spunaugle, Oakland UniversityChair: Jenny S. Bossaller, University of Missouri-ColumbiaSecretary-Treasurer: Natalie K. Bulick, Indiana State University / vacantMember-at-Large: Emily D. Spunaugle, Oakland UniversityMember-at-Large: Anthony Bernier, San Jose State UniversityChair: Anthony Bernier, San Jose State UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Eric C. Novotny, Penn StateMember-at-Large: Carol A. Leibiger, University of South DakotaMember-at-Large: H. Jamane Yeager, Elon UniversityChair: Anthony Bernier, San Jose State University / Bernadette A. Lear, Penn State HarrisburgSecretary-Treasurer: Steven A. Knowlton, Princeton UniversityMember-at-Large: H. Jamane Yeager, Elon UniversityMember-at-Large: Amanda Belantara, New York UniversityChair: Carol A. Leibiger, University of South DakotaSecretary-Treasurer: Suzanne M. Stauffer, Louisiana State UniversityMember-at-Large: Amanda Belantara, New York UniversityMember-at-Large: Ana Ramirez Luhrs, Lafayette CollegeChair: Emily D. Spunaugle, Oakland UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Thomas Glynn, Rutgers UniversityMember-at-Large: Ana Ramirez Luhrs, Lafayette CollegeMember-at-Large: Michele Fenton, Indiana State LibraryChair: Steven A. Knowlton, Princeton UniversitySecretary-Treasurer: Christopher Proctor, Indiana University SoutheastMember-at-Large: Michele Fenton, Indiana State LibraryMember-at-Large: Laura Kelly Clark-Hunt, University of Southern MississippiIFRT/LHRT/LRRT Joint Program“A Lost Opportunity: Intellectual Freedom in Cold War America,” Ellen Schrecker, Yeshiva UniversityResponders: Christine A. Jenkins, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Fay Golden, Liverpool (NY) Public LibraryPublication: Andrew B. Wertheimer, University of Wisconsin–Madison, “Libraries, Society, and McCarthyism,” Cognotes, June 29, 1998LHRT Seventy-Fifth Anniversary Celebration“Long Life to the Library History Round Table: Fifty Years of Promoting History, 1947–1997”Papers:Publication: Libraries & Culture 35, no. 1 (Winter 2000), https://www.jstor.org/stable/i25548792IFRT/LHRT Joint Research Awards Program“Reading on the Middle Border: The Culture of Print in Osage, Iowa, 1870 to 1900,” Christine J. Pawley, University of Wisconsin–MadisonResearch Forum: “Bringing Libraries to the People: Histories of Library Outreach”Papers:Publication: Robert S. Freeman and David M. Hovde, Libraries to the People: Histories of Outreach (Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2003)“Communities Build Libraries: History, Politics, and Development of Linkages”Panel:“National Libraries of the World: Interpreting the Past, Shaping (or Mapping?) the Future”Organizer(s): John Y. Cole, Library of CongressHost: Library of Congress, Center for the BookPublication: Andrew B. Wertheimer and Donald G. Davis, Library History Research in America: Essays Commemorating the Fiftieth Anniversary of the Library History Round Table, American Library Association (Washington, DC: Library of Congress, 2000)Chair’s Program: “The Public Library as Public Space: Histories of Library Buildings and Their Uses”Papers:Chair’s Program: “History, Memory, and Preservation” (September 11th theme)Panel:Chair’s Program, cosponsored by the Canadian Library Association (CLA) Library History Special Interest Group: “U.S. and Canadian Library History: The Same But Different”Papers:Research Forum: “Library Women in the 20th Century: From the First to the Second Feminist Movement”Papers:Research Forum: “From the Outside In: The Library in the Life of Its Historical Users”Papers:Chair’s Program: “Reading at War: Books and Libraries in World War II”Papers:Research Forum: “Untapped Treasures: Library Documents as Primary Sources”Papers:Chair’s Program: “Living Legacy: Carnegie Libraries Past and Future”Papers:“Libraries in Times of War, Revolution, and Social Transformation”Organizer(s): W. Boyd Rayward and Christine A. JenkinsHost: University of Illinois Urbana-ChampaignPublication: Christine A. Jenkins and W. Boyd Rayward, eds., “Libraries in Times of War, Revolution, and Social Change” (special issue) Library Trends 55, no. 3 (2007), https://muse.jhu.edu/issue/11424LHRT Research Forum“The American Ethnic Experience in the History of Libraries and Print Culture”Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “History as Collaboration: Making the Encyclopedia of the Library of Congress: For Congress, the Nation, and the World,” John Y. Cole, Library of Congress, and Jane Aikin, National Endowment for the HumanitiesResearch Forum: “Washington, DC, the Nation, and the World: Papers in Honor of John Y. Cole”Panel:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “Embracing Books: Japanese Librarianship during the Allied Powers Occupation Period, 1945–1952,” Akira Nemoto, University of TokyoResearch Forum: “History of Libraries and Librarianship in the American West”Papers:Responder: Joanne E. Passett, Indiana University EastEdward G. Holley Memorial Lecture, cosponsored by Public Library Association (PLA) International Relations Committee, International Relations Round Table (IRRT), Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Western European Studies Section (WESS), and Library Research Round Table (LRRT): “Public Library History in the Late 20th Century: A Comparative Perspective”Papers:Invited Speakers Program“New Perspectives on American Public Library History”Papers:Responder: James V. Carmichael, University of North Carolina GreensboroResearch Forum, cosponsored by the Association for Library Service to Children and the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA): “Library Materials and Services to Children and Young Adults: Historical Perspectives”Papers:Responder: Christine A. Jenkins, University of Illinois at Urbana-ChampaignEdward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “Ephemeral and Elusive: Journalism History as Reading History,” David Paul Nord, Indiana University BloomingtonAssociation of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Anthropology and Sociology Section (ANSS) Program, co-sponsored by LHRT: “Standing Up and Sitting In: Libraries and Social Change”Panel:Invited Speakers Program, cosponsored by the Association of Library Trustees, Advocates, Friends, and Foundations (ALTAFF) and the Public Library Association (PLA): “Documenting and Celebrating Your Library’s History: Tips from the Experts”Panel:Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) Program, cosponsored by LHRT: “Library History and Women’s History: A Natural Partnership,” Joan Wages, National Women’s History MuseumResearch Forum: “Politics, Libraries, and Culture: Historical Perspectives”Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “The Bullet in the Book: Reading Cultures during the Civil War,” Ronald J. Zboray and Mary Saracino Zboray, University of Pittsburgh“Libraries in the History of Print Culture”Organizer(s): Christine J. Pawley and Louise S. RobbinsHost: University of Wisconsin–MadisonPublication: Christine J. Pawley and Louise S. Robbins, eds., Libraries and the Reading Public in Twentieth-Century America (Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 2013)Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) Program, cosponsored by LHRT“Right Here I See My Own Books: The Women’s Library at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair,” Sarah Wadsworth, Marquette UniversityInvited Speakers Program: “The Past as Prologue: Papers in Honor of 135 Years of the American Library Association”Papers:Research Forum: “History of Library Services for Business, Industry, and Labor”Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “Ghosts and Shadows: Reading Race in the Woman’s Building Library of the World’s Columbian Exposition,” Sarah Wadsworth, Marquette UniversityEdward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “Thinking Globally about Carnegie Libraries,” Abigail Van Slyck, Connecticut CollegeInvited Speakers Panel: “Public Libraries and Civil Rights: African Americans and American Library History”Papers:Responder: Renate L. Chancellor, Catholic UniversityResearch Forum: “Intellectual Freedom and Libraries in America and Abroad: Historical Perspectives”Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “Library of Power, Library of Enlightenment: Libraries as Foundations of the Modern State 1400–1800,” Jacob Soll, University of Southern CaliforniaAssociation of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) Program, cosponsored by LHRT: “History On Fire!: How Libraries Mitigate Loss of the Cultural Record Due to Disaster or Destruction,” Valerie Harris, University of Illinois ChicagoResearch Forum: “Library History as American History”Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “The Business of Lectures: An Itinerant History of Public Culture in Nineteenth-Century America,” Thomas Augst, New York UniversityResearch Forum: “The Library and the City, Historical Perspectives”Papers:ALA Office of Intellectual Freedom (OIF) Program, cosponsored by LHRT and the Black Caucus: “Speaking about ‘The Speaker’”Panel:Monday, June 30, 1:00–2:30 p.m.Government Documents Roundtable (GODORT) Program, cosponsored by LHRT: “Tribes and Scribes: Native American and WPA Historical Research”Panel:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “The Lives of Persons, Printed Matter, and Institutions of Letters,” Ezra Greenspan, Southern Methodist UniversityResearch Forum: “Libraries and Frontiers: Historical Perspectives”Papers:“Libraries: Traditions and Innovations”Organizer(s): Michèle V. Cloonan and Melanie A. Kimball (co-chairs) and othersHost: Simmons UniversityPublication: Melanie A. Kimball and Katherine M. Wisser, Traditions and Innovations: Papers from the Library History Seminar XIII (Berlin: DeGruyter, 2017)Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “History, Childhood, Memory, and Imagination,” John Cech, University of FloridaResearch Forum: “History of Reading and Readers in Libraries”Papers:Research Forum: “Alternative Literacies and Libraries: Historical Perspectives”Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “American Librarians and the Collecting Missions of World War II,” Kathy Peiss, University of PennsylvaniaResearch Forum: “History of Marginalized People and Libraries”Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “Girl in a Frame: Enslaved People, Their Stories, and the Archives in the Digital Age,” Mary Niall Mitchell, University of New OrleansChair’s Program / Edward G. Holley Lecture: “Through the Looking Glass: The Wonderland of Archival Footage,” Dawn Logsdon and Lucie Faulknor, Serendipity FilmsResearch Forum: “Wall, Wells, or Welcomes: Libraries in the Lives of Immigrants, Old and New”Papers:Research Forum: [unknown theme, focused on library technology?]Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture [canceled]: “The Fight by Remembering: The Making of a Suffrage Archive,” Lisa Tetrealt, Carnegie Mellon UniversityOrganizers: Amanda Belantara, Bernadette A. Lear, and Michele FentonDiscussions:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “Publics and Their Reading Publics: A Pact with Books,” B. Venkat Mani, University of Wisconsin–MadisonResearch Forum, cosponsored by the Ethnic and Multicultural Information Exchange Round Table (EMIERT): “Library History and Social Justice”Papers:“Libraries without Borders”Organizer(s): Bernadette A. Lear (chair), Alea Henle, Melora Norman, Ellen M. Pozzi, Jordan S. Sly, Amanda Sprochi, Emily D. Spunaugle, and Andrew B. WertheimerHosts: Penn State and Miami University (via Zoom)Publications: Steven A. Knowlton, Ellen M. Pozzi, Jordan S. Sly, and Emily D. Spunaugle, eds., Libraries without Borders: New Directions in Library History (Chicago: ALA Editions, in press)Organizers: Amanda Belantara, Bernadette A. Lear, and Michele FentonDiscussions:Research Forum: “The Silent History of Libraries”Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture, cosponsored by the Graphic Novels and Comics Round Table (GNCRT): “Animated Cartoon Shorts and American Perceptions of World War II,” Kurt H. Hackemer, University of South DakotaTuesday, June 13, 3:00-4:00 p.m.Research Forum: “Unpacking Access”Papers:Edward G. Holley Memorial Lecture: “Cultural Memory, Community Work: Why Every Librarian Should Care About Rare Books,” Rebecca Romney, Type Punch MatrixOrganizers: Amanda Belantara and Michele FentonDiscussions: