The Oklahoma Library Association (OLA) is a non-profit organization that promotes libraries and library services and provides professional development for library personnel in the state of Oklahoma. OLA is a chapter of both the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

and the Mountain Plains Library Association. OLA hosts workshops throughout the year and holds an Annual Conference. OLA is the official sponsor of the

Sequoyah Book Award The Sequoyah Book Award is a set of three annual awards for books selected by vote of Oklahoma students in elementary, middle, and high schools. The award program is named after Sequoyah (–1843), the Cherokee man who developed the Cherokee syll ...

, the third oldest U.S. state children's choice award. "Sequoyah Book Awards"
(homepage). Oklahoma Library Association (OLA). Retrieved 2014-05-05.

History

OLA was formed on May 16, 1907 by a small group of librarians from the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

and nearby normal schools as well as public libraries. The meeting was hosted by the now-defunct Carnegie Library in downtown Oklahoma City. These librarians were interested in forming a statewide library association to ensure the "statewide extension of tax-supported library service" and "to explore a more economical way of transporting...books." OLA has sponsored the Read Y'all celebrity poster literacy campaign and the Mildred Laughlin Festival of Books. OLA used to publish a newsletter called Oklahoma Librarian, which ceased in 2018. https://www.oklibs.org/page/Oklahoma_Librarian (( , access-date=July 9, 2020 ))

Notable Members

Ruth Brown (librarian) Ruth Winifred Brown (July 26, 1891September 10, 1975) was an American librarian, best known for her dismissal from service for civil rights activities in the late 1940s. On July 25, 1950, she was dismissed after 30 years of service as the Bartl ...

* Ruby Canton, daughter of lawman and former outlaw

Frank M. Canton Frank M. Canton (born Josiah Horner, September 15, 1849September 27, 1927) was an American Old West fugitive who had a career as a deputy U.S. marshal under an assumed name. Although an ex-sheriff stock detective in Wyoming, Canton and his associ ...

Milton J. Ferguson Milton James Ferguson (April 11, 1879 – October 23, 1954) was an American librarian. He graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 1906, and served as librarian of the University of Oklahoma from 1902 to 1907. He helped organize and was elec ...

Allie Beth Martin Allie Beth Martin (née Dent; June 28, 1914 – April 11, 1976) was an American librarian, educator, politician, and author. In 1990, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the field of library science by '' American Libraries''. ...

Pat Woodrum Pat Woodrum is the former executive director of the Tulsa City-County Library System, a position she served in for 32 years. Since retiring from the library system in 2008, Woodrum has served as the executive director of the Oklahoma Centennial Bot ...

External links

Oklahoma Library Association

Read Y'all

References

{{Authority control Library-related professional associations Library-related organizations Library associations in the United States Professional associations based in the United States Organizations established in 1907 Organizations based in Oklahoma