The American Library Association Equality Award has been given annually by the American Library Association since 1984 in recognition of achievement for outstanding contribution toward promoting equality in the library profession, either by a sustained contribution or a single outstanding accomplishment. The award may be given for an activist or scholarly contribution in such areas as pay equity, affirmative action, legislative work and non-sexist education.[1] The inaugural award was bestowed on Margaret Myers, Director, Office of Library Personnel Resources of the American Library Association in 1984.[2]
Advocate for minority concerns of Judaic librarianship, the Jewish patron community, and the ongoing struggle to have Jewish concerns included in diversity justice efforts. Library Journal Award.[5]
2022
Fulton County Library, McConnellsburg, PA, and community activists Sarah Cutchall and Emily Best.[6]
Standing up to County Commission labeling LGBTQ+ as "hate group."
2021
Joint Council of Librarians of Color (JCLC)
Purpose Statement of the JCLC is “to promote librarianship within communities of color, support literacy and the preservation of history and cultural heritage, collaborate on common issues, and to host the Joint Conference of Librarians of Color every four years.” [7]
Organized annual National Library Workers’ Day[10] and ALA Allied Professional Association [11] committees and taskforces focusing on diversity and inclusion, including Spectrum Scholarship and Emerging Leaders.
"staunch champion for inclusion and has led the charge in changing the education of librarians to make them better able to serve those, who to date, have been unserved or underserved."
1991 Hispanic Librarian of the Year-REFORMA, initiated and directed Knowledge River, University of Arizona School of Information Resources and Library Science,[24] “Guidelines for Library Service to the Spanish-Speaking” (ALA, 1978).
University of Michigan Library Diversity Award; work with ALA Spectrum initiative and "an enduring legacy of positive change in librarianship by investing her energy, passion and dedication to fostering equality throughout the profession."
Co-chair, first Joint Conference of Librarians of Color.[29] Author, "Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association— A History of APALA and Its Founders."[30]
President, American Indian Library Association, Anishinabe, a member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, enrolled on the White Earth Reservation, member of the International Indigenous Librarians Council, author.
Russell B. Long Professor at the School of Library & Information Science, Louisiana State University for "leadership in affirmative action efforts in library and information science, both as a librarian and as a library educator," author, The African-American Reader’s Advisor.[35]
2004
Janet B. Wojnaroski
School library media specialist at Kent (Ohio) Roosevelt High School, "commitment to building connections between schools, institutions, and the general community, fostered awareness of African-American history and culture, brought the generations together in a shared endeavor, and preserved the history of Kent, Ohio, and its people."[36]
2003
Carla J. Stoffle
Dean of libraries, University of Arizona in Tucson "mentored countless individuals and instituted a number of programs, including Peer Information Counseling, a minority outreach program where undergraduate minority students serve as information role models to other students. She supports the recruitment and retention of librarians of color and advocated for a two-year program that brings new librarians of color to work in academic internships."[37]
Scholar at Department of Information Studies University of California-Los Angeles who specializes in the social construction of information systems, institutions and access to help understand the usage of and barriers to information in multicultural communities.[39]
Combined her heritage as a Santee Dakota, Abenaki and Cree woman with her vocations - librarian, teacher and writer - to facilitate positive change in the representation of American Indians in library resources. Author, A Broken Flute : The Native Experience in Books for Children.[41]
First African American librarian to chair ALA's Chapter Relations Committee; primary role in development of "Stop Talking and Start Doing! Recruitment and Retention of People of Color to the Profession" initiative.
"bold, ongoing, and unfaltering commitment to making equality part of the library's organizational culture and thereby being a model for other service agencies," recognized for "serving a city one-by-one, by fully embracing the ideals of equity and diversity."
American Library Association, Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, chair Women's Studies Section of the Association of College and Research Libraries, Women's Studies Specialist at the Library of Congress, author of "The Impact of Feminism on Women in the Profession," [46]
Represented American Library Association on the National Committee on Pay Equity. Editor of Women in Libraries, ALA Special Presidential Task Force on Better Salaries and Pay Equity.
1995
Wisconsin Women Library Workers
Wisconsin Women Library Workers is a feminist organization committed to improving the status of women in the library field and to the elimination of sex role stereotyping and sex bias.
Comanche librarian, educator, founder of the American Indian Library Association, Co-chair, White House Conference (1992) Pathways to Excellence: Improving Library and Information Services for Native American Peoples.[48]
Founder, Social Responsibilities Round Table, and co-founder of the SRRT Feminist Task Force, first woman treasurer (1984–88) of the American Library Association.
1992
Susan Ellis Searing
Instrumental in developing Women's Studies as a field. Author, Introduction to Library Research in Women's Studies,[50]American Women’s History[51]"Women's Studies for a “Women's” Profession.[52]
Founder, Social Responsibilities Round Table and chair, Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship; labored tirelessly and effectively for the Equal Rights Amendment, comparable worth, leadership development for women, and childcare.
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sandy Berman but Were Afraid to Ask.[57]
1988
Kathleen Weibel
ALA Task Force on Women-Pre-Conference, 1974. Author: “Toward a Feminist Profession,”[58]The Role of Women in Librarianship 1876-1976: The Entry, Advancement and Struggle for Equalization in One Profession,[59] “Public Library Response to Women and Their Changing Roles.” [60]
Illinois Library Association ERA Task Force, Committee of the Status of Women in Librarianship, Co-author,The Role of Women in Librarianship 1876-1976: The Entry, Advancement and Struggle for Equalization in One Profession.[61]
First researcher to document pervasive pattern of gender inequality within the library profession (1968) - “Characteristics of Professional Personnel in College and University Libraries."[66] Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, Task Force on Better Salaries and Pay Equity for Library Workers.
Director, American Library Association, Office for Library Personnel Resources, 1974–1995. Formulated "Each One, Reach One" campaign, 1988 to increase diversity in librarianship;[68] did foundational work that gathered data for the SPECTRUM scholarship program.[69]Melvil’s Rib Symposium[70]
^Montiel-Overall, Patricia, and Sandra Littletree. "Knowledge River: A Case Study of a Library and Information Science Program Focusing on Latino and Native American Perspectives." Library Trends 59, no. 1 (2010): 67-87.
^Zhou, Liana. 2003. “Characteristics of Material Organization and Classification in the Kinsey Institute Library.” Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 35 (3/4): 335–53.
^Miller, Rebecca, and Aída Bardales. 2006. “Better Together: The Joint Conference.” Library Journal 131 (19): 34–35.
^Yamashita, Kenneth A.(2000), "Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association— A History of APALA and Its Founders, Library Trends 49 (1) 2000: Ethnic Diversity in Library and Information Science."
^The African-American Reader’s Advisor: A Guide for Readers, Librarians, and Educators. Edited by Alma Dawson and Connie Van Fleet. Englewood, Colorado: Greenwood Publishing Group, 2004.
^“The Profession’s Shining Stars: ALA Award Winners, 2004.” 2004. American Libraries 35 (8): 48–64.
^“Joining the Honor Roll: ALA Award Winners, 2003.” 2003. American Libraries 34 (8): 60–75.
^Seale Doris and Beverly Slapin. 2005. A Broken Flute : The Native Experience in Books for Children. Walnut Creek CA Berkeley CA: AltaMira Press ; Oyate.
^"Cole, Brown win 2000 ALA awards." Library Journal, May 15, 2000,
^Watkins, Christine.(1999).“Excellence in Action: 1999 ALA Award Winners.” American Libraries30 (Sept):81.
^Turock, Betty J. 2001. “Women and Leadership.” Journal of Library Administration 32 (3/4): 111–32.
^U.S. National Commission on Library and Information Science Pathways to Excellence: A Report on Improving Library and Information Services for Native American Peoples 1992. Available in the ERIC Document Reproduction Service as ED3588582
^“1993 ALA Awards Winners.” 1993. American Libraries 24 (July): 624.
^Searing, Susan E. 1985. Introduction to Library Research in Women’s Studies. Boulder: Westview Press.
^Searing, Susan E. 1986. American Women’s History: A Basic Bibliography. Madison WI: University of Wisconsin System Women’s Studies Librarian-at-Large.
^Searing, Susan E. (1992). "Women's studies for a “women's” profession: theory and practice in library science." In The knowledge explosion: generations of feminist scholarship, pp. 225-234. Ed. by Cheris Kramarae and DaleSpender. New York: Teachers College Press.
^Chancellor, Renate (2020). E. J. Josey: Transformational Leader of the Modern Library Profession, Rowman & Littlefield, 2020.
^The Black Librarian in America, Scarecrow Press, 1970.
^“1990 ALA Awards Winners.” 1990. American Libraries 21 (June): 612.
^Dodge, Chris and Jan DeSirey and Sanford Berman. 1995. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Sandy Berman but Were Afraid to Ask. Jefferson N.C: McFarland.
^Weibel, Kathleen. 1976. “Toward a Feminist Profession.” Library Journal (1976) 101(1976):1 S. 263-267.
^Weibel, Kathleen,Kathleen M. Heim and Dianne J. Ellsworth. (1979). The Role of Women in Librarianship 1876-1976: The Entry, Advancement and Struggle for Equalization in One Profession. 1979. Phoenix Ariz: Oryx Press.
^Cassell Kay Ann and Kathleen Weibel. (1980). “Public Library Response to Women and Their Changing Roles.” RQ 70–75.
^Weibel, Kathleen,Kathleen M. Heim and Dianne J. Ellsworth.The Role of Women in Librarianship 1876-1976: The Entry, Advancement and Struggle for Equalization in One Profession. 1979. Phoenix Ariz: Oryx Press.
^1986 ALA Awards Winners.” 1986. Library Journal 111 (13): 50.
^Cassell, Kay Ann. 1982. “ALA and the ERA.” American Libraries 13 (11): 690.
^Cassell, Kay Ann and Kathleen Weibel. 1980. “Public Library Response to Women and Their Changing Roles.” RQ 70–75.
^Schiller, Anita R, James W Grimm, Margo C Trumpeter. United States Office of Education Bureau of Research and University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Library Research Center. 1969. Characteristics of Professional Personnel in College and University Libraries. Springfield: Illinois State Library.
^American Library Association Office for Library Personnel Resources. 1989. Each One Reach One: Recruiting for the Profession ; Action Handbook. Chicago: Office.
^1989. Occupational Entry : Library and Information Science Students’ Attitudes Demographics and Aspirations Survey. Chicago: American Library Association Office for Library Personnel Resources,
^Myers Margaret Mayra Scarborough and Rutgers University Graduate School of Library Service. 1975. Women in Librarianship : Melvil’s Rib Symposium : Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Symposium Sponsored by the Alumni and Faculty of the Rutgers University Graduate School of Library Service. New Brunswick N.J: Bureau of Library and Information Science Research Rutgers University Graduate School of Library Service.