Biography

The Iowa Library Association was founded in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1890. Known as the Iowa Library Society until 1897, its original organizers included Ada North, Mary Miller, T. S. Parvin, Clara M. Smith, and Clara C. Dwight. Its primary goal was to make library service available to all Iowans. This goal has not changed in over a century. Other views have changed dramatically, especially stands on censorship. When the association was founded in the 19th century, censorship in the service of high ideals was not simply tolerated ... it was an important philosophical principle of librarianship. Now the emphasis is on intellectual freedom. Beginning in the 1950s efforts to increase cooperation between libraries became a major theme. The Open Access program is one example of the trend toward multitype cooperation, bringing public, school, academic, and special librarians together to more effectively and efficiently use their combined resources to meet the needs of their patrons. Improving library service in the state remains the primary focus of the Iowa Library Association.

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