California Library Association

California Library Association (CLA)
Established1895; 131 years ago (1895)
TypeNon-profit
NGO
Location1055 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California
President
Shawn Thrasher
Vice-President
Genesis Hansen
Past President
Gary Shaffer
Websitewww.cla-net.org

Established in 1895, the California Library Association (CLA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit charitable organization. Members of CLA include library staff members, professional librarians, library and information science graduate students, and those individuals "interested in the development, promotion and improvement of library services" in the U.S. state of California.

History

The California Library Association traces the impetus of its founding to the American Library Association (ALA) conference in 1891 in San Francisco in 1891. This was ALA's first West Coast conference. At that time, there was interest in forming a regional library association on the West Coast, because it was felt that the American Library Association's was focused more on the development of East Coast libraries. CLA was formed in 1895 at "a meeting of representatives of eight northern California libraries." This creation was spearheaded by George Clark, Arthur Jellison, and Joseph Rowell.

CLA quickly took its role of advocating for libraries in California seriously. In the early 1900s, CLA worked on collaborations and mutual support with the California State Library and State Librarian James Gillis. In 1912 the organization advocated for the building of schools, including the California State Library School, to train librarians and to expand libraries throughout the state.

At the 1914 annual meeting of the Association, it was voted to affiliate the California Library Association with the American Library Association. This gave the CLA representation within the national association's Council.

In 1941 the organization published guidelines for the roles of professional and non-professional librarians in college and university libraries.

The organization has a history of advocating against censorship, discrimination, and government interference. In 1984, the organization received national attention when it rescinded its invitation to a noted Holocaust denier and antisemite, David McCalden, to speak at their convention. "When [McCalden's] request to display his books during Banned Books Week was denied by the Torrance (California) Public Library, McCalden was invited by the California Library Association in 1984 to operate a booth and participate in a presentation at its annual conference. The uproar by both politicians and the press when this became public led the CLA to cancel McCalden's exhibit and program. McCalden sued CLA and his lawsuits were dismissed by the courts.

Purpose

The organization's original focus was on traveling libraries and interlibrary loan, creation of a state library commission and state library standards, and library training and copyright depositories in the state of California. The CLA operated as the de facto state library commission promoting library services to underserved areas until the California State Library took over those roles.: 92  Currently its stated mission is to provide "leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library services, librarianship and the library community." The organization also gives awards to programs that encourage reading and education, including the PBS show California Gold with Huell Howser.

CLA provides resources to its members and to California libraries of all types, including educational opportunities, library job listings, and advocacy efforts. Members including individual members (including library students), public and academic libraries, and library-related businesses. CLA organizes an annual conference which brings library workers and supporters together to learn and network, as well as to attend to the organizational business of the association.

Structure

CLA operates according to its bylaws and standing rules. The association is managed by a board of directors, consisting of 15 members. The members are elected for a term of 3 years, and elections are conducted every year for 2 or 3 positions.

CLA partners with the California State Library to create the California Public Library Trustees Toolkit, Lunch at the Library, a program to serve lunch to children in the summers, and California Libraries Learn (CALL), continuing education for staff in public, school, special, or academic libraries in California.

California Library Hall of Fame

One of the initiatives that the CLA runs in order to celebrate library history in the state and honor members is the California Library Hall of Fame. Similar to other Hall of Fame awards, anyone, member or not, who had made a notable contribution to California libraries throughout history are eligible for the award, which was established in 2012. The honorees are announced annually at the CLA conference. Additional awards, scholarships, and medals are given to particular individuals, organizations, and libraries for notable accomplishments in the California library sphere.

California Library Hall of Fame honorees with Wikipedia pages
Award Year Name (Wikilinked) Accomplishments Ref.
2026 Michael Cart Author, librarian, and president of the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) and the Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of the National Council of Teachers.
Carleton Winslow
Marva DeLoach Librarian and educator in library science studies; advocate for diversity in the field.
2025
2024 Joyce Madkins Sumbi
2023 Martha Boaz
2022 Helen E. Haines
Robert M. Hayes
2021 Michael Buckland
Hiroshi Kashiwagi
2020 Elizabeth Martinez
Laura Steffens Suggett
2019 Susan H. Hildreth The State Librarian of California from 2004-2009 and the CLA president in 2004.
Dorothea Nelson As city librarian of the Santa Maria Public Library, supervised numerous library remodels and services.
2018 Betty Blackman Librarian, first African-American Dean of Libraries in the California State University system.
Rue Randall Clifford
Mabel Gillis
Andrew Smith Hallidie
Frances Burns Linn
2017 Tessa Kelso
Effie Lee Morris
2016 Ray Bradbury
Mary Foy
Anne Hadden
May Dexter Henshall
Rosamond Parma
Frances Clarke Sayers
2015 Kate M. Foley
Carleton B. Joeckel
Ella Morgan
2014 Clara Breed
Ina Coolbrith
Harriet G. Eddy
Charles Fletcher Lummis
2013 Essae Martha Culver
Adelaide Hasse
Huell Howser
Ida M. Reagan
Gretchen Knief Schenk
Kevin Starr
Althea Warren
William Henry Weeks Architect
2012 James Louis Gillis The President of the CLA (1906-1916).
Zoia Horn Librarian, peace activist, and advocate of intellectual freedom.
Carma Leigh State Librarian of California from 1951-1972.
Miriam Matthews Librarian, art collector, and the first certified African-American librarian in California.
Regina Minudri Librarian, library advocate, and 1986-1987 president of the American Library Association.
Lawrence Clark Powell Library director and 1949-1950 California Library Association president.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "History". California Library Association.
  2. ↑ "Membership Levels". California Library Association.
  3. ↑ Johnson, Bruce (30 November 1975). "The California Library Association, 1895–1906; Years of Experimentation and Growth". Education Resources Information Center. Institute for Education Sciences. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  4. ↑ "Public Library The Trustees Meet and Transact the Regular Monthly Business". The Sacramento Union. Vol. 80, no. 142. Sacramento, California: Sacramento Publishing Company. 1891-02-04. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  5. 1 2 3 Held, Ray (1973). The Rise of the Public Library in California. Chicago, Illinois: American Library Association. ISBN 0-8389-0124-7. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  6. ↑ Johnson, Bruce L. (1975-11-30). "The California Library Association, 1895–1906; Years of Experimentation and Growth".
  7. 1 2 Hansen, Debra Gold (2013). "Depoliticizing the California State Library: The Political and Professional Transformation of James Gillis, 1899–1917". Information & Culture. 48 (1): 68–90. doi:10.7560/IC48105. ISSN 2164-8034. JSTOR 43737452.
  8. ↑ "Success of County Free Library System". Tulare County Times. Tulare, California. 1912-05-16. p. 3. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  9. ↑ Kunkle, Josephine (1972). "The California State Library School". Journal of Education for Librarianship. 12 (4): 232–239. doi:10.2307/40322191. ISSN 0022-0604. JSTOR 40322191.
  10. ↑ California Library Association Annual Meeting and California County Librarians' Convention Lake Tahoe, June 17 to 22. Sacramento, California: California State Library. 1912. p. 300. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  11. ↑ Summary proceedings of the annual conference of the California Library Association, 1914. Sacramento: California Library Association. 1914. p. 22. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  12. ↑ Sheridan, Leslie W. (1976-09-01). "The Role of the Beginning Librarian in University Libraries (Book Review)". College & Research Libraries. 37 (5): 477–478. doi:10.5860/crl_37_05_477. hdl:2142/39269. ISSN 2150-6701.
  13. ↑ "Historian Charges LA Officials With Censorship". Santa Barbara News-Press. Santa Barbara, California. 1945-10-09. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  14. ↑ "Self-Appointed Censors Hit by Librarian". Stockton Evening and Sunday Record. No. 166. Stockton, California. Associated Press. 1957-10-17. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  15. ↑ Poole, Alex H. (2023), "'Will the Day Ever Come When We Will Be Judged on Our Merit and not on Our Blackness?' The Black Caucus of the American Library Association and the Long Freedom Struggle in the United States, 1970–1975", in Sserwanga, Isaac; Goulding, Anne; Moulaison-Sandy, Heather; Du, Jia Tina (eds.), Information for a Better World: Normality, Virtuality, Physicality, Inclusivity, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, vol. 13971, Cham: Springer Nature Switzerland, pp. 485–500, doi:10.1007/978-3-031-28035-1_36, ISBN 978-3-031-28034-4, retrieved 2024-09-02
  16. ↑ Villagran, Michele A.L.; Hofman, Darra (2023-02-06). "'It's hard to know what we should be doing': LGBTQ+ students' library privacy in the COVID-19 pandemic". Sexualities. 27 (7): 1225–1246. doi:10.1177/13634607231152428. ISSN 1363-4607. PMC 9908524.
  17. ↑ Koseff, Alexei (2024-08-05). "As LGBTQ library material comes under fire, California may ban book bans". Jefferson Public Radio. Southern Oregon University. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  18. ↑ Stanton, Sam; Bazar, Emily (2003-09-22). Rodriguez, Rick (ed.). "Librarians step up". The Sacramento Bee. Sacramento, California: McClathcy Newspaper. ISSN 0890-5738. Retrieved 2024-08-30.
  19. ↑ "#blackhistory: On August 6, 1905, Miriam Matthews, the Los Angeles Public Library's first black librarian and the "Dean of California Black History," was born". California African American Museum. August 6, 2019. Retrieved 2024-08-30. Matthews also took on the politically fraught work of fighting for academic and intellectual freedom at the height of the McCarthy Era. As a member (and later Chair) of the California Library Association's Committee on Intellectual Freedom to Safeguard the Rights of Library Users to Freedom of Inquiry, Matthews pushed back on efforts to whitewash textbooks on California history and to establish a board of censors to review acquisitions by LAPL.
  20. ↑ Horning, Claudia M. (2022). "Trailblazing Black Librarian in the Golden State: The Legacy and Accomplishments of Miriam Matthews, 1905–2003". Southern California Quarterly. 104 (4): 407–450. ISSN 0038-3929. JSTOR 27274572.
  21. ↑ Thomas, Cal (1984-12-07). Censoring Bigot Is Just Playing Into His Hands. Philadelphia Daily News. p. 52.
  22. ↑ "Speech by man who disputes Holocaust cancelled". The Galveston Daily News. Galveston, Texas. Associated Press. 1984-11-18. p. 13. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  23. ↑ Knight, Pat (1985-04-25). "Revisionism Changing history or spreading prejudice". Corvallis Gazette-Times. Corvallis, Oregon. p. 1. Retrieved 2024-09-02.
  24. ↑ Drobnicki, John A.; Goldrnan, Carol R.; Knight, Trina R.; Thomas, Johanna V. (1995-01-13). "Holocaust-Denial Literature in Public Libraries: An Investigation of Public Librarians' Attitudes Regarding Acquisition and Access". Public & Access Services Quarterly. 1 (1): 5–40. doi:10.1300/J119v01n01_01. ISSN 1056-4942.
  25. ↑ Drobnicki, John; Goldman, Carol; Knight, Trina; Thomas, Johanna (1995-01-01). "Holocaust-Denial Literature in Public Libraries: An Investigation of Public Librarians' Attitudes Regarding Acquisition and Access". Publications and Research. York College.
  26. ↑ Carelli, Richard (1992-06-02). "High court strikes down attempts by two states to keep out garbage". The Buffalo News. Associated Press. p. 4.
  27. ↑ Froehlich, Thomas (2022). "American Democracy Under Siege: Business as Usual in Libraries?". Journal of Information Ethics. 31 (2). Their concern stems from a seminal case regarding David McCalden, a Holocaust-denier and promoter, who sued the California Library Association when it canceled his scheduled appearance at its 1984 annual conference. His suit was dismissed.
  28. ↑ "Bylaws of the California Library Association (CLA)" (PDF). California Library Association.
  29. ↑ California's Gold Memorial Collections (2013.011.r.c), Frank Mt. Pleasant Library of Special Collections and Archives, Chapman University, CA
  30. ↑ Talan, Carole (2005). Kurutz, Gary (ed.). "California Celebrates 20 Years of Library Literacy Services". California State Library Foundation Bulletin. No. 81. Sacramento, California.
  31. ↑ "California Library Association's 2018 Conference". The Silicon Valley Voice. 2 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  32. ↑ "Governance". California Library Association.
  33. ↑ "Governance – California Library Association". www.cla-net.org. Retrieved 3 December 2019.
  34. ↑ "California Libraries Learn (CALL): Fostering Learning and Growth in California Libraries". California State Library. 2022-03-24. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  35. ↑ "California Public Library Trustees Toolkit". California State Library. 2023-06-15. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  36. ↑ "California State Library – Lunch at the library". California State Library. 2024-06-17. Retrieved 2024-08-20.
  37. ↑ "California Library Hall of Fame Inductees - California Library Association". www.cla-net.org. Archived from the original on 2025-03-03. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  38. 1 2 "California Library Association Announces 2026 Award Recipients". California Library Association. September 19, 2026.
  39. ↑ "Congratulations to the 2025 California Library Hall of Fame Honorees! - California Library Association". www.cla-net.org. Archived from the original on 2025-11-15. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
  40. ↑ dbs21 (2019-07-22). "California Library Hall of Fame Inductees, 2019". LHRT NEWS AND NOTES. Retrieved 2026-10-22.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
  41. ↑ "The Incomparable Miriam Matthews | Los Angeles Public Library". www.lapl.org. Retrieved 2026-10-22.
  42. ↑ Leung, Lianna (2021-06-30). "'Bigger than life': Champion of public library services Regina Minudri dies at age 84". Daily Cal | Berkeley news. Retrieved 2026-10-21.
  43. ↑ "California Library Hall of Fame: Lawrence Clark Powell - California Library Association". www.cla-net.org. Archived from the original on 2026-01-10. Retrieved 2026-10-21.