ALA History: African American Presidents of the American Library Association (ALA)

The first African American president of ALA was Clara Stanton Jones (1976-1977).

Sources: Jordan, Casper Leroy and E.J. Josey. "A Chronology of Events in Black Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Marva L. DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 12. Print. ; "ALA's Past Presidents." American Library Association. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2011. ; McPheeters, Annie L. Library Service in Black and White: Some Personal Recollections, 1921-1980. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1988. 132. Print. ; Poinsett, Alex.. "1976: Year of the Black Voter." Ebony 32.3 (1977): 85. Print. ; Garner, Carla W. "Jones, Clara Stanton (1913- )." BlackPast.org. BlackPast.org, n.d. Web. 21 Feb. 2011. ; DeLoach, Marva. "Clara Stanton Jones." Women of Color in Librarianship: An Oral History. Ed. Kathleen de la Pena McCook. [Chicago]: ALA, Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, 1998. 28-57. Print.

The second African American president of ALA was E.J. Josey (1984-1985).

Sources: Jordan, Casper Leroy and E.J. Josey. "A Chronology of Events in Black Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Marva L. DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 14. Print. ; "ALA's Past Presidents." American Library Association. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2011. ; McPheeters, Annie L. Library Service in Black and White: Some Personal Recollections, 1921-1980. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1988. 132. Print. ; Jefferson, Julius C. “The Black Male Librarian: An Endangered Species.” The National Diversity in Libraries Conference. Louisville Marriott Downtown, Louisville, KY. 3 Oct. 2008. Pdf.

The third African American president of ALA was Hardy R. Franklin (1993-1994).

Sources: Jordan, Casper Leroy and E.J. Josey. "A Chronology of Events in Black Librarianship." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Marva L. DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 16. Print. ; "ALA's Past Presidents." American Library Association. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2011.

Update 07/28/2012:

Here are two additional articles related to Hardy R. Franklin: 

Franklin, Hardy R. "Customer Service: The Heart of A Library." College and Research Library News 55.2 (Feb. 1994): 63. Print.

Goldberg, Beverly. "African Americans 'Stretch the Envelope' at the First Black Caucus Conference." American Libraries 23.10 (Nov. 1992): 832-833. Print.



The fourth African American president of ALA was Carla Hayden (2003-2004).

Sources: "Carla Hayden Elected New American Library Association President." Jet 101.23 (2002): 34 . Print. ; "ALA's Past Presidents." American Library Association. American Library Association, n.d. Web. 8 Jan. 2011. ; Brennan, Carol. "Carla D. Hayden Biography." Brief Biographies, N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010.

Update 03/01/2016:

On February 24, 2016, President Barack Obama announced his decision to nominate Carla Hayden for the position of Librarian of Congress. If she is confirmed for the position, Ms. Hayden would be the first African American and the first woman to serve as Librarian of Congress.


Sources: "President Obama Announces His Intent to Nominate Carla D. Hayden as Librarian of Congress." WhiteHouse.gov. White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 24 Feb. 2016. Web. Mar. 1, 2016. ; Peet, Lisa. "President Obama Announces Intent to Nominate Carla D. Hayden as Librarian of Congress." Library Journal. Library Journal, 26 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016. ; "BCALA Celebrates Dr. Carla Hayden's Nomination to Be Librarian of Congress." BCALA - News and Events: Press Releases. Black Caucus of the American Library Association, 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016. ; Gravatt, Nancy. "'The President Could Not Have Made a Better Choice': ALA Comments on the Pending Nomination of Carla Hayden for Librarian of Congress." American Library Association. American Library Association, 24 Feb. 2016. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.

Update 9/15/2016:

Carla Hayden was sworn in as the 14th Librarian of Congress by Supreme Court Justice John Roberts, Jr. on Wednesday, September 14, 2016.

Sources: Peet, Lisa. "Carla Hayden Blazes Trail as First Woman, First African American Librarian of Congress." Library Journal 15 Sept. 2016. Web. 15 Sept. 2016. ; Fandos, Nicholas. "New Librarian of Congress Offers History Lesson in Her Own Right." New York Times 15 Sept. 2016: A13. Print.


Update 05/03/2013:

The fifth African American president of ALA will be Courtney L. Young (2014-2015).

Sources: Kempf, JoAnne. "Young Wins ALA Presidency." ALA News. American Library Association, 3 May 2013. Web. 3 May 2013. ; "ALA Election Results: Young Wins President, Gonzalez Treasurer;  Dues Measure Passes by Wide Margin." INFOdocket. INFOdocket.com, 3 May 2013. Web. 3 May 2013. ; Borman, Laurie. "Young Wins 2014-2015 ALA Presidency." Inside Scoop. American Library Association, 3 May 2013. Web. 3 May 2013.

Update 07/15/2014:

Courtney L. Young was officially sworn in as ALA President on July 1, 2014. The ceremony took place at the 2014 American Library Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Sources: "ALA 2014: For Librarians, It's Viva Las Vegas." Publishers Weekly 261.27 (2014): 7. Print. ; Albanese, Andrew. "ALA Sizzles in Las Vegas." Publishers Weekly (Online). 30 June 2014. Web. 15 July 2015.

Update 10/22/2019:

The sixth African American president of ALA is Wanda Brown (2019-2020).

Sources: Peet, Lisa. "Wanda Brown Wins ALA Presidency." Library Journal. Library Journal, 18 Apr. 2018. Web. 22 Oct. 2019. ; Morales, Macey. "Brown Wins 2019-2020 Presidency." ALA News. American Library Association, 18 Apr. 2018. Web. 22 Oct. 2019. 

Update 06/26/2020:

The seventh African American president of ALA is Julius Jefferson, Jr. (2020-2021).

Sources: Morales,  Macey. "Jefferson wins 2020-2021 ALA Presidency." ALA News. American Library Association, 10 Apr. 2019. Web. 26 June 2020. ; Reyes, Sheryl. "ALA President-Elect Julius C. Jefferson, Jr. Invites Members to Attend Free Virtual Inauguration." ALA News. American Library Association, 9 June 2020. Web. 26 June 2020.  ; Albanese, Andrew. "Julius C. Jefferson Wins 2020-2021 ALA Presidency." Publishers Weekly. PWxyz, LLC, 12 Apr. 2019. Web. 26 June 2020.