ALA History: Early African American Officers of the American Library Association (ALA)

Alma Jacobs was the first African American to serve on ALA's Executive Board.

Source: 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. 9. Print.



Albert P. Marshall was the first African American to serve as chair of ALA's Nominating Committee.

Sources: Josey, E.J. "Introduction." The Black Librarian in America. Ed. E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1970. xi. Print. ; 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. 9. Print.

Update 07/28/2012:

Here is an additional article related to Albert P. Marshall:

Goldberg, Beverly. "African Americans 'Stretch the Envelope' at the First Black Caucus Conference." American Libraries 23.10 (Nov. 1992): 834-835.Print.

Update 10/11/2012:

Here are more articles related to Albert P. Marshall:

"Marshall Gets Office in State Library Assoc." Lincoln Clarion (Jefferson City, Mo.) 19 Oct. 1951: 2. Print.

"Librarians Attend Chicago Meeting." Jefferson City Post-Tribune 5 July 1951: 10. Print.

"Faculty Spends Holidays Both Near and Far Away." Lincoln Clarion (Jefferson City, Mo.) 7 Jan. 1955: 2. Print.

Update 11/06/2012:

Albert P. Marshall served as the first editor of Library Service Review, the publication of the North Carolina Negro Library Association. In addition, he was also a librarian at Winston-Salem Teachers College (now Winston-Salem State University) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

See: Library Service Review 1.1 (1948) and Library Service Review 1.2 (1948).


Robert Wedgeworth was the first African American to serve as Executive Director of ALA.

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. ; "Voice of 3,000 Librarians: Robert Wedgeworth, Executive Director of American Library Association, Seeks to Make Librarians Visible." Ebony 28.8 (1973): 107-108, 110-112. Print. ;  Dawson, Alma. "Celebrating African American Librarians and Librarianship." Library Trends 49.1 (2000): 61. Print. ; "American Library Assn. Names Black Executive." Jet 42.4 (1972): 25. Print. ; 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. ; Bobinski, George S. Libraries and Librarianship: Sixty Years of Challenge and Change, 1945-2005. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2007. 100. Print.



The first African American director of the Office of Literacy and Outreach Services was Jean Coleman.

Sources: Dawson, Alma. "Celebrating African American Librarians and Librarianship." Library Trends 49.1 (2000): 56-57. Print. ; "Former OLOS Director Dies." ALCTS Network News 12.17 (1996): n. pag. Web. 30 Jan. 2011. ; Woods, Alfred L. "Chicago Black Librarians Caucus." Handbook of Black Librarianship. Ed. E.J. Josey and Marva L. DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 117. Print.

Charlemae Hill Rollins was the first African American to serve as president of the Children's Services Division of the American Library Association.

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. 8. Print. ; Josey, E.J. "Introduction." The Black Librarian in America. Ed. E.J. Josey. Metuchen: Scarecrow, 1970. xi. Print.