LHRT NEWS AND NOTES

The Australian Museum turns 190

A short video to mark the 190th birthday of the research library of the Australian Museum in Sydney, Australia. The video shows not only some favourites from its collection but shows a comprehensive history of the library and its collection from an unpublished thesis. See the Video. If you want to learn more about the library and its history have a look here: History of the library

LIS Education Internationalisation Webinar series: Webinar 2

Topic: The Vatican Apostolic Library’s Pivotal Role in the Birth and Early Years of IFLA

Speaker: Raffaella Vincenti When: 22 June 2026 at 15:00 CET Where: Online

Description: The IFLA Library History SIG, invites you to the second of its Library Information Science (LIS) Education Internationalisation Webinar Series. This Webinar, presented in the context of the IFLA Centenary, explores the extraordinary role the Vatican Apostolic Library played in founding and in the early years of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA). The Library’s reorganization in the 1920s, largely funded by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, was a major catalyst for international cooperation. This project brought together American experts and European leaders who were simultaneously working to establish IFLA. The event will specifically highlight the collaboration between the Vatican Apostolic Library and IFLA’s first two presidents, Isak G.A. Collijn and William Warner Bishop. Both were hosted by the Library while engaged in the project for its reorganization between 1928 and 1929. This historical perspective contributes high scientific and symbolic value to the IFLA Centenary celebrations, emphasizing the deep connection between the Library’s tradition and the evolution of international library education.

Registration and Further Details: https://www.ifla.org/events/library-information-science-lis-education-internationalisation-webinar-series-webinar-2/

Lecture: Friends of the Bodleian Annual Lecture // Richard Ovenden: Defending Knowledge: Why Libraries Matter.

Listen to Richard Ovenden OBE, Bodley’s Librarian, as he explores the deliberate destruction of knowledge throughout history and its urgent relevance today.Drawing from his acclaimed book Burning the Books: A History of Knowledge Under Attack, Richard disusses how libraries, librarians, and archivists bear the profound responsibility of preserving and transparently sharing information, and their critical role in safeguarding knowledge for future generations.“Why are books destroyed? It’s about control—controlling knowledge to control societies, to control the way people behave, the way people think, the way people spend money.”(Richard Ovenden). https://youtu.be/TlKBAYH1KAc?si=D0BAYNzWBcsaV0pE

Black Women’s Literary Reception and Taste:

The Incomparable Doris E. Saunders

Wednesday, June 24 

Reception at 6 p.m.

Talk at 6:30 p.m.

Join the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection on June 24, 6–7:45 p.m., for a special presentation: Black Women’s Literary Reception and Practice: The Incomparable Doris E. Saunders.

Artist and independent scholar Ann C. Saunders will reflect on the life and legacy of her mother, Doris E. Saunders (1921–2014), a Bronzeville native, librarian, and pioneering information professional whose career spanned public librarianship and Black publishing.

During her Chicago Public Library career, Doris Saunders worked with Vivian Harsh and Charlemae Hill Rollins as a Principal Reference Librarian and later joined the Negro Digest Publishing Company (Johnson Publishing Company) as its librarian, where she built its corporate library. Saunders later understood this work as information management and a form of intellectual entrepreneurship.

This talk invites a closer look at the role Doris E. Saunders played in shaping information circulation within Black literary and publishing networks and suggests new ways of understanding her place in that history. This program is also presented in conjunction with the Harsh Readers Circle’s June 2026 book selection Reading the Renaissance: Black Women’s Literary Reception and Taste in Chicago, 1932-1953. Join us for this Readers Circle on June 20th to learn more about this history and gain valuable context for the special presentation, Black Women’s Literary Reception and Practice: The Incomparable Doris E. Saunders, on June 24th! 

The library Doris Saunders created now lives on at the Stony Island Arts Bank, and her personal papers are preserved at the Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection, the largest African American history and literature collection in the Midwest.

Register for the in-person program athttps://tinyurl.com/4a747s9p, or  

Join virtually:https://tinyurl.com/2ywra7p7

Join us for warm refreshments before the 6:30 p.m. talk. For more information, contact harshcollection@chipublib.org.

This program is made possible with generous support from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Chicago Public Library Foundation as part of Chicago Public Library’s Renaissance Project.

UPCOMING EVENTS AND CURRENT PROGRAMS FROM THE HARSH RESEARCH COLLECTION

SPECIAL COLLECTIONS MICROFILM 101

Thursday, June 4th, 2026, 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Do you find yourself longing for the days of handheld newspapers, tape decks, and newspaper articles without comment sections? Do you gaze nostalgically at hand painted signs or old buildings? Or maybe you’re just aching to work with analog materials again (or give them a spin for the first time!) and aren’t sure where to start. Special Collections Microfilm 101 is a workshop for you!

Step into the halls of history with a workshop session about the unpredictable intrigue, socially enjoyable experience of using microfilm. This session will cover how to load and use a microfilm reader, review reel guides, and navigate microfilm reels of historical issues of EBONY magazine, JET, and others in the Harsh Collection.

Register at https://tinyurl.com/rxkjhfad.

EXHIBITS 

PRAISE AND PROTEST: VOICES FROM THE CHICAGO BLACK RENAISSANCE

Exhibit in the Harsh Research Collection’s Gallery, Woodson Regional Library, 9525 S. Halsted Street

September 17^th, 2025 – August 27^th, 2026

Open during Harsh’s public hours

The exhibit Praise and Protest: Voices from the Chicago Black Renaissance shines light on the intersection of art and literary movements during Chicago Black Renaissance. Highlighting figures such as Margaret Burroughs, Marion Perkins, Gordon Parks, Charles White, Gwendolyn Brooks, Richard Wright, Langston Hughes, William McBride Jr., and places like the South Side Community Art Center, the exhibit introduces the interplay between their activism protesting social injustice and celebration of Black artistic and literary genius. 

This exhibit was made possible with generous support from the Getty Foundation and the Chicago Public Library Foundation.

Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection

Chicago Public Library | Carter G. Woodson Regional Library

9525 South Halsted Street | Chicago, IL 60628 

312.745.2080 | https://www.chipublib.org/harsh 

Harsh public hours: Tu. – Th., 1pm – 5pm; 3^rd Sat., 1pm-4pm| Request an appointment

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Hello,

Dr. Mark Carl Rom, who is researching for his project Profiles from America’s Public Libraries, has a question for the library history community about an intriguing phenomenon that we hope some of our members can help answer as copied below. Please email Dr. Rom at mark.carl.rom@gmail.com if you have any leads:

“I’ve come across a librarian in Marceline, Missouri who in 1932 created a “rental shelf” program. I’m wondering: was this a common idea, or was this an innovation? My searches have come up empty.

This is what I wrote (draft) about the program:

Olive brought an innovative “rental shelf” program to the library in 1932. The concept was this. A patron would contribute a book to the rental shelf, with the donor’s name placed on the book. Individuals could rent the book for five cents a day during the first three days and two cents per day after that. When rental fees were sufficient to buy another book, it would be added to the shelf with the name of the original donor included, and the process would begin again. Genius. In principle, this program could have a couple of benefits for the library and its patrons. Had I been able to participate, I would have contributed a popular book in the hope that it would frequently be rented. (Why donate a book that is unlikely to be rented to this program?) The next book I would have bought? Another best seller, probably, and I would have continued doing this until (maybe) my final contribution, which might be a book I really wanted to add to the library’s collection. If others acted the same way – and I think they would have – the library’s collection in number and scope of popular books would grow at no cost to the library, which could then devote its scarce resources to purchasing books of public importance, even if those books are less frequently used.”

Sincerely,

Mark

www.americaslibraries.com

mark.carl.rom@gmail.com

Independent Researcher”

Super historian and librarian Bernadette Lear has published several additional posts about Pennsylvania library history on her blog:

• Cumberland County Library System’s STAR (senior citizens outreach) Program
• The 1977 banning of Flowers for Algernon in Emporium (Cameron County)
• Early Internet experiences — mine in 1994, and Scranton Public Library’s in 1996/1997
• State Librarian Ernest E. Doerschuk

You can see previous posts at: https://palibhist.blogspot.com/

Will book clubs rise in popularity if people resist AI?

https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/gen-z-is-reinventing-the-book-club-and-its-awesome/91332394

***Apologies, the submission links were not live on the original posting.***

The Innovation and Advocacy in Library History Award

The Innovation and Advocacy in Library History Award is presented by the ALA Library History Round Table (LHRT) as a “best of year” achievement award that acknowledges individuals or organizations that have made recent, substantive contributions to LHRT or to the wider library history community. The intention of this non-monetary award is to recognize efforts that are ineligible for other LHRT prizes; thus, nominations which emphasize publication of articles, books, dissertations, or essays will not be considered.

Eligibility and Criteria

Nominations, including self-nominations, are welcomed from all interested parties but must pertain to activities taking place in the past two years. Nominations will be judged on the contributions’ quality, impact, and relevance to LHRT or the library history community. The LHRT is particularly interested in recognizing those who have promoted library history in exceptional or new ways or who have reached audiences that have not been engaged previously. Nominee membership in LHRT is encouraged but not required.

Submissions and Selection

Each nomination must include a brief statement thoroughly explaining the contribution or project and why the nominee is worthy of consideration. It must also include at least two (2) letters of support. Individual nominees must include a CV or resume, while organizational nominees must include a statement indicating the organization’s mission and other background information. Nominators of the same entity may be asked to collaborate to produce stronger applications and reduce duplicative effort. The selection of awardees will be made by an LHRT committee and will be announced in June 2026. Please submit nominations using this form by Friday, May 29, 2026. Contact Jennifer Bartlett, LHRT Chair, at jbartl22@utk.edu for more information.

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The Distinguished Service in Library History Award

The Distinguished Service in Library History Award is presented annually by the ALA Library History Round Table (LHRT) and honors the career of a person who has a lifetime of scholarship and service in the field of library history. This non-monetary award is intended to be given to an individual who has a record of contributions; who demonstrates length, breadth, and depth of involvement in library history; and who has had a significant impact on the work of the ALA Library History Round Table or on the library history community at large.

Eligibility and Criteria

Criteria for the Award include the significance of contributions to library history, such as publications in the field, courses taught in library history, and service to the field through the LHRT or other groups. The intention of the Award is to recognize service; thus, nominations which emphasize research and publication and do not describe service or other activities pertaining to library history will not be considered. Personal membership in the LHRT is encouraged but is not required for an individual to be selected for the Award.

Submissions and Selection

Current LHRT members may submit a letter of nomination. The nomination must include the nominee’s curriculum vitae and at least two (2) letters of support. Nominators of the same individual may be asked to collaborate to produce stronger nominations and to reduce duplicate effort. The selection of the awardee will be made by an LHRT committee and will be announced in June 2026. Please submit nominations using this form by Friday, May 29, 2026. Contact Jennifer Bartlett, LHRT Chair, at jbartl22@utk.edu for more information.

Find out about free zoom talks on some fascinating topics! Titles include “Women’s Libraries and Their Afterlives” and “Indigenous Agency and Intervention in the Bibliographical Record”:

https://rarebookschool.org/resources/2026/05/rbs-reveals-summer-2026-lecture-series/

https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/21345/26541

Dr. Anita Coleman discusses ALA Core’s browser recommendations as well as ALA Draft Guidance on the Use of AI in Libraries:

https://infophilia.substack.com/p/one-rule

A new Infophilia post by Dr. Anita Coleman offers a non-tracking, completely private assessment we can take of our own information styles! Plus, find out about some upcoming book club and library talks!:

Vibe Coding in the Digital Ocean: Curiosity Meets Code, and the Future is a Beach

https://infophilia.substack.com/p/vibe-coding-in-the-digital-ocean