LHRT Research Forum (free and open to all)

You are cordially invited to attend the annual Research Forum sponsored by the Library History Round Table. The theme this year is “Unpacking Access”.

The forum is online, open to all, and free. It will be held Tuesday, June 13 at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

Our speakers are:

· Amanda Rizki (University of Virginia Library), “Carceral Fees: A History of Racism at the Circulation Desk”

· Ethan Lindsay (Wichita State University Library), “Extending Library Access to Readers Across the Plains: The Early Traveling Libraries Program in Kansas”

Register here:

https://ala-events.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJUtcu-uqDsrGteJ4fwDAssvOHOxZz4atdQv#/registration

(Note: in the second, unlabelled question, please submit any topics you would like LHRT to explore in future Research Fora)


Steven Knowlton
Librarian for History and African American Studies

Princeton University

Two New Papers: Censorship & Capitalism

The blog is pleased to announce the publication of two new papers in our “Themes Through the Ages” column!: https://lhrt.news/themes-in-library-history/

Jacob Shriner has written a paper about the history of censorship in America. Megan Shepherd has composed a piece about the links between the rise of capitalism and free public libraries.

Mr. Shriner and Ms. Shepherd completed these papers as part of Professor Christopher Proctor’s LIS-S580 History of Libraries in the Department of Library and Information Science at the Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Find out more about them and enjoy their papers at https://lhrt.news/themes-in-library-history/

Many thanks to both of them for sharing some great research with us!

LHRT Updates

Hello everyone!

Please see below for some updates from LHRT Chair Emily Spunaugle:


“*Join us Thursday, May 18 at 7:00p ET for our virtual bookclub LHRT Reads! discussion of the Dee Garrison’s libhist classic, The Apostles of Culture: The Public Librarian and American Society, 1876-1920Register in advance here! More information is also available on Michele Fenton’s recent ALA Connect post. Can’t wait to see you there!

*Our annual Research Forum, this year themed “Unpacking Access,” will be held virtually on Tuesday, June 13 at 3:00p ET. Our two selected speakers will be:

  • Amanda Rizki (University of Virginia Library), “Carceral Fees: a History of Racism at Circulation Desk”
  • Ethan Lindsay (Wichita State University Library), “Extending Library Access to Readers Across the Plains: The Early Traveling Libraries Program in Kansas”

Keep your eyes peeled for registration information!

*LHRT will also be in-person at ALA Annual in Chicago! Our Edward G. Holley lecturer is bookseller, author, (and consulting rare book expert on the HISTORY Channel’s television show Pawn Stars) Rebecca Romney! Rebecca’s lecture, “Cultural Memory, Community Work: Why Every Librarian Should Care About Rare Books,” is on Sunday, June 25, from 10:30-11:30a CT at McCormick Place. For all those attending ALA in person, we’ll see you there.

Volunteer Opportunities (LIS students, you’re especially welcome!)

*Our next Library History Seminar (LHS)–a quinquennial conference celebrating the histories of libraries, their workers, and users–will be held online in 2026. Virtual conferences, although online, still require considerable work. Curious what our last LHS was like? You can browse the conference website here. If you have experience or simply interest! in conference planning and would like to help put together LHS XV, please contact @Emily Spunaugle

*LHRT Website Review–Our beloved website, https://www.ala.org/rt/lhrt, is due for a review! Our website is the first point of contact we have with you, our current members, with prospective members, and others.  We’re looking for members interested in joining our current volunteer webmaster to review our site for broken links, incorrect information, and inconsistent formatting. If you have a sharp eye, a flair for public-facing writing, or are simply willing to click through pages with us, contact @Emily Spunaugle

*LHRT Oral History Project–To help document our own history, the LHRT Executive Committee has approved an LHRT Oral History Project to interview some of our longtime members. If you’ve experience (or simply interest!) in taking oral histories, contact Andrew Wertheimer, who has graciously agreed to head up this important work.

——————————
Emily Spunaugle
Humanities and Rare Books Librarian
Oakland University

She/Her/Hers”

Seeking proposals for TWO Indigenous Matters events at IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2023 [IFLA]

02 May 2023

IFLA Indigenous Matters Section will be involved with TWO events at the upcoming IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2023 this summer.

  1. Joint Satellite Session hosted by the Rare Books and Special Collections Section and Indigenous Matters Section
    Theme: “Decolonising collections, elevating Indigenous voices, heritage collections and reparative justice”
    A two-day Joint Satellite Session at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2023 in Leiden on the 18th and 19th of August, 2023.
    Deadline for submission of abstracts is 15 May 2023
  2. Working Together Toward Guidelines for Library Services With Indigenous Peoples.
    Theme: “Working Together Toward Guidelines for Library Services With Indigenous Peoples”
    A Session
     at the IFLA World Library and Information Congress 2023 in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The session will be scheduled between 21-25 August 2023.
    Deadline for submission of proposal abstract is 5 May 2023

Web Site: https://www.ifla.org/news/seeking-proposals-for-two-indigenous-matters-events-at-ifla-world-library-and-information-congress-2023/

You’re Invited: LHRT Reads Event

Hello everyone,

Please note that LHRT Reads events are virtual, and they’re open to both LHRT members and nonmembers:

We are pleased to invite you to the next LHRT Reads event! We will discuss Apostles of Culture: The Public Librarian and American Society, 1876–1920 by Dee Garrison. Join us on May 18th, 2023 at 7pm EST. Advance registration required. We welcome participants to suggest discussion questions in advance of the event. We look forward to seeing you there! 

LHRT Reads

Amanda Belantara (ab6477@nyu.edu)  and Michele Fenton (mfenton@library.in.gov).