Iowa Library Association: Iowa Time Machine September 2, 1890

Iowa Time Machine ⏰: On September 2, 1890, the Iowa Library Association was founded in Des Moines. The second-oldest state library association in America, the ILA brings together librarians, library workers, trustees, students, and other supporters.

In the late summer of 1890, librarians throughout the state of Iowa received an invitation to meet at the State Library in Des Moines. Undersigned by Ada North, then librarian of the State University of Iowa in Iowa City, spearheaded the meeting. The State Librarian, Mary Miller, along with three others, formed an initial group aimed at fostering greater cooperation among librarians throughout the state.

Attendance at the American Library Association meeting in 1889 led North to organize the group, which convened with twelve librarians from across the state at its first meeting. The seventeen-member group heard a speech from Governor Horace Boies and established bylaws for the group mirroring those of the New York Library Association. 

Still headquartered in Des Moines, the Iowa Library Association today boasts over 1,600 members representing public, academic, and special libraries throughout the state of Iowa. #IowaOTD #IowaHistoryDaily #IowaHistoryCalendar