Library History 2010 Preview

Each new year provides opportunities to enjoy and celebrate library history. Here is a preview of some of those opportunities in 2010.

National Library Week which occurs April 11-17 is a great opportunity to make your community aware of your library's heritage. This year's theme is "Communities thrive @ your library."

The American Library Association will launch its first Preservation Week May 9-15 with the theme "Pass It On". The Association for Library Collections and Technical Services (ALCTS) of ALA is coordinating this effort. How about a focus on preserving and/or highlighting your library's historical artifacts and archives.

Every five years the Library History Round Table undertakes the sponsorship of a Library History Seminar. This year the event will take place September 10-12 in Madison, Wisconsin. TheCenter for the History of Print Culture in Modern America at the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin - Madison is coordinating this event. Library historians from around the country will gather to hear presentations on the role of library records as a source of data and information for print culture and library history research.

October is American Archives Month which provides an opportunity to highlight and display library history archives.

November 25 will be the 175 anniversary of the birth of Andrew Carnegie which makes 2010 a great opportunity for communities, libraries, and institutions that have benefited from Carnegie's gifts to celebrate his legacy.

The ALA Mid-winter Conference in Boston provides an opportunity to visit the historic central library of the Boston Public Library and the Boston Athenaeum. The ALA Annual Conference in Washington, D.C. is an opportunity to visit the Library of Congress and many other wonderful libraries in that city.
The Library History Round Table of ALA has meetings and programs at the two ALA conferences in 2010 that will be of interest to library history buffs and historians.

Many library anniversaries will occur in 2010 which provide an opportunity to celebrate library history. Here are a few suggestions for doing that.