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The California Library Association and its Contributions
The California Library Association and its Contributions to Library Science and
American Society
June Kim
San Jose State University
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
Abstract
This research paper provides an overview of the history, mission and activities of
California Library Association (CLA) and explores in particular its contributions to
Library Science profession in terms of information access issues and information policy.
The contributions emphasized are CLA’s sharing of technological information pertinent
to Library Science and its influence on legislative policy having to do with censorship
and funding of libraries. Of particular interest is CLA’s demonstrated role in promoting
the American ideal of freedom through its advocacy of the library as a “free” public
space that allows its users to read texts from various sources despite the fact that they
may contain views that are in opposition to the American notion of patriotism. Further
research would include exploration of CLA’s stance on and responses to the USA
Patriot Act and nuclear arms policy, as well as its role as a member of other
international organizations. Research was conducted through the King Library
databases and information gathered from various scholarly articles and journals.
Keywords: intellectual freedom, censorship, finances, funding
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
California Library Association (CLA) is a non-profit library organization that has
contributed to Library Science in two major ways: by providing the community valuable
information on new and relevant technologies, and by influencing legislative policies
regarding librarianship. Furthermore, considering the importance of information to the
growth and development of a society, CLA’s contributions to Library Science are
essentially contributions to American society as a whole.
CLA was founded on March 8, 1895 by public and academic librarians in the San
Francisco Bay Area (California Library Association, 2010e,”Overview”). CLA’s mission is
to provide leadership for the development, promotion and improvement of library
services, librarianship and the library community. It strives to help its members adapt to
changes in the job market, to help educate about new technologies, and to influence
legislation regarding libraries (California Library Association, 2010e,”Overview”). CLA
was first called the “Library Association of Central California”, but changed its name to
the “Library Association of California” when it included southern California members in
1897(California Library Association, 2010e,”Overview”). CLA was given its current name
in 1906. (California Library Association, 2010e,”Overview”). Its first president was J.C.
Rowell, who was the first full time University Librarian at UC Berkeley. CLA currently
has approximately 3,000 members. Members include librarians, library employees,
library students, friends group members, trustees, retirees as well as members of the
general public who wish to support California libraries. Other members are businesses
that support libraries, as well as library institutions (California Library Association,
2010e,”Overview”).
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
In March 1952, the Association organized the first statewide Library Week, which
was nationalized by the ALA in 1957 (California Library Association, 2010a, “CLA
History”). CLA also contributed its ideas on library staffing, collection size and budget
requisites to ALA’s national standards of 1956 (Mediavilla, 2009). Furthermore, CLA
was one of the first state library associations to appoint an Intellectual Freedom
Committee and among the earliest library organizations to officially denounce the USA
Patriot Act, a US congressional act to increase security controls as a response to the
September 11th terrorist attacks (California Library Association, 2010a, “CLA History”).
CLA committees are formed to address organizational, member and community
issues. The members are chosen carefully to reflect a balanced representation that
include such factors as type of library, experience, new and old members, ethnicity and
gender (California Library Association, 2010e,”Overview”). There are five working
committees: Awards and Scholarships, Conference Planning, Intellectual Freedom,
Interest Groups and four standing committees: Advocacy and Legislation, Bylaws and
Governance, Finance, and Leadership Development (California Library Association,
2010b, “Committees”). CLA has round tables for African-American, Chinese-American
and Native-American librarians (Biggs, 2004).
CLA’s code of ethics was originally documented in its Draft Statement of
Professional Responsibility for Librarians in 1978, but more currently can be found in
Competencies for California Librarians in the Twenty-First Century, adopted on
November 17, 1998 (Mediavilla, 1999). This document lists both professional and
personal competencies expected of librarians, with a specific section listing the required
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
ethical behavior: “treats subordinates, coworkers, customers, competitors, and suppliers
with honesty, respect, and fairness; protects and values patron confidentiality and
organizational security” (Mediavilla, 1999, para. 12).
CLA’s current president is Wayne Disher, and is governed by a Board of
Directors. Together they create the organization’s policies and guide the organization in
its finances. The members are elected by annually by other members serve three-year
staggered terms. Nominees can either be named by the Leadership Development
Committee, by a fellow member, or by self-nominating themselves. Board members
participate in volunteer service and meet four times a year, in November, February,
April and June. CLA Bylaws and Standing Rules are the official documents that the
organization must abide by in all its activities (California Library Association, 2010c,
“Governance”).
CLA’s publication is California Libraries, originally a print newsletter that was
published bi-monthly, but is currently a monthly e-newsletter. The newsletter was
originally called Current Library Affairs, but changed its name to CLA Newsletter in
1961, then again to California Library Association Newsletter in 1971. The newsletter
includes a president’s column, employment information, book reviews, conference
information and various librarianship news. CLA also publishes CLArion, a magazine
published in April and October of every year. CLArion includes fewer but lengthier
articles on librarianship than the newsletter (California Library Association, 2010d,
“Newsletter Archives”).
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
One of the ways CLA contributes to Library Science is by sharing technological
information with the library community. As part of the annual Spring Fling Conference in
2011, CLA presented the workshop “Cataloging Digital Media Using Current and
Emerging Standards” in conjunction with Online Audiovisual Catalogers (OLAC) and
Northern California Technical Processes Group (NCTPG) (Bothmann, 2011). Speakers
included librarians and faculty from several universities. The workshop provided
information on descriptive cataloging of digital media such as DVD-Video, DVD-Audio,
Blu-Ray Disc, Streaming Media, Playaways, DualDiscs, and DVD-ROM, as well as an
overview of the RDA standard which was proposed to take the place of AACR2. Dr.
Robert Ellett, lecturer at the San Jose State University, explained the many benefits of
RDA (Bothmann, 2011). This sharing of information pertinent to Library Science
technology helps to inform the community of new developments and preparing library
professionals for technological changes to come.
Another contribution of CLA to the library community was its collaboration with
Pacific Bell in 1999, where CLA used videoconferencing technology to connect
librarians and advocates with the state (Watkins, 1999). CLA also recognized the
potential to use videoconferencing to connect author readings to library patrons and
chapter events to members. CLA recognized that videoconferencing technology was a
new and innovative way to connect people from all over the world, with the purpose of
sharing literature (Watkins, 1999). Again, by sharing valuable information on emergent
technologies, CLA demonstrates not only its support for and participation in these new
technologies, but its commitment to sharing the information with the library community.
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
CLA’s most impressive contribution to information policy however, is seen in it is
participation against anti-communist censorship in the 1940s and 1950s. Recognizing
the important role librarians held as “gatekeepers of information”, CLA created the
Committee on Intellectual Freedom to Safeguard the Rights of Library Users to
Freedom of Inquiry in 1940 (Haines, 1941). It worked diligently to protect intellectual
freedom by lobbying legislation. The appointed chair was Helen E. Haines, a professor
and author of the library standard Living with Books. According to Haines, its purpose
was “to serve as a medium through which CLA can affirm professional policy regarding
individual or organizational attempts to restrict library service to readers by censorship
of library collections or by the suppression of particular books” (Haines, 1941, p.138)
and that “the public library must be free to furnish materials on all subjects of public
interest and to represent, in that material, conflicting points of view” (Haines, 1941,
p.138).
CLA advocated the message that librarians should resist anti-communist
attempts to suppress information in libraries. For example in 1947, the Committee on
Intellectual Freedom passed a resolution opposing senate bill 1026, which prohibited
any type of “propaganda” in the classroom (Mediavilla, 1997). In 1948 it passed the
“Resolution protesting Loyalty Investigations” to oppose the Los Angeles County Board
of Supervisors’ proposal of loyalty oaths requiring county employees to swear their
support and patriotism of the United States. CLA argued that the oaths created an
“atmosphere of surveillance and suspicion, endangering civil rights, inhibiting freedom
of expression and implying guilt by association (Mediavilla, 1997, para. 15). By
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
opposing legislation that threatened the intellectual freedom of libraries and librarians,
CLA was also fighting for basic civil rights of citizens during a time of political
uncertainty. Ironically, the government’s aggressive attempts to censor communist
materials were a demonstration of those same communist ideals.
A further success in opposing censorship in the 1950s is CLA’s resolution
against the city of Burbank’s proposal for a statewide investigation of libraries to
determine what librarians were doing to keep communist literature out of libraries, as
well as a resolution against the attempted prohibition of teaching the UNESCO doctrine
in California public schools (Mediavilla, 1997). Also noteworthy is CLA’s opposition of
senate bill 241, which proposed a review of materials being added to library collections
(Mediavilla, 1997).
CLA also made proactive attempts against censorship by creating the
“Intellectual Freedom in Libraries” policy that would track and oppose any legislation
that might undermine library collections or the duties of professional librarians
(Mediavilla, 1997). In addition, CLA proposed and was granted a study of censorship
pressures and their effects on California librarians and book selection practices. The
study demonstrated how the fear generated by the anti-communist political climate had
intimidated librarians to the point where they were self-censoring and avoiding
purchasing books that would jeopardize their lives and careers (Mediavilla, 1997). In
line with the its commitment to allow “free” libraries, CLA wanted to demonstrate how
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
political leaders were preventing libraries from providing various political viewpoints, as
a truly free society would.
More recently, CLA has contributed to Library Science in terms of legislative
policy that affects library funding. In response to the economic crisis of 1995, CLA
created a 3-part plan to counter the state budget cuts (Turner & St Lifer, 1993). CLA
launched a public relations campaign addressing issues, sponsored a nationwide ballot
initiative to provide funding for public libraries, and trained local groups to advocate for
libraries. Furthermore, former ALA President Regina Minudri organized a statewide
public opinion poll to prove the value of libraries to its users (Turner & St Lifer, 1993).
In 2000, CLA’s Ann Cousineau helped lobby to pass a ballot measure up for vote
that would grant libraries 350 million for construction and renovation (Glick, 2000). The
measure stated that the state would give priority funding to “joint-use projects” between
school and public libraries, requiring that libraries built with the funding must be built
next to school. Cousineau and CLA lobbied successfully to make the bill less restrictive,
although library and political leaders were unconcerned about the potential issues that
would arise from a union of school and public library resources (Glick, 2000).
CLA continued its lobbying efforts in 2006 when Governor Arnold
Schwarzenegger signed the California Reading and Literacy Improvement and Public
Library Construction and Renovation Bond Act which if approved, would authorize 600
million for library construction and renovation (Blumenstein, Oder, & Rogers, 2004).
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
CLA sponsored the bill, recruiting support from boards of supervisors, city councils,
mayors, the California Building Industry Association, and the Architects Association
(Blumenstein, Oder, & Rogers, 2004).
In conclusion, CLA has contributed to the Library Science profession in
numerous ways, from community building, to sharing technological news and
influencing both legislative funding and policy regarding access to information. In the
1940s-50s, CLA worked to protect librarianship from anti-communist censorship, and
more recently, has fought for library funding, as well as sharing critical new
technologies. In its responses to the changing times, CLA has revealed its nature as
truly humanistic and freedom loving, dedicated not only to the protection of intellectual
freedom and advancement of libraries, but to the promotion of human and civil rights
that are crucial to American society. Thus CLA is an organization with political
accomplishments reaching far beyond the library community.
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
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The California Library Association and its Contributions
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