CREDIT: The American Library Association Archives
One hundred and three librarians—ninety men and thirteen women—established the American Library Association during the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition. While their broad aim was “to enable librarians to do their present work more easily and at less expense,” ALA’s purpose also included advancing library interests and creating a space for librarians and those in adjacent fields to share their knowledge. Today, ALA’s mission has expanded to “empowering and advocating for libraries and library workers to ensure equitable access to information for all.” For the past 150 years, ALA has championed libraries and library workers in their efforts to expand knowledge, protect freedoms, and provide essential services to communities everywhere.
Honoring a Milestone Anniversary
In August 2025, ALA was ramping up preparations for their 150th anniversary in 2026, which coincided with their 2026 Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois. They engaged History Associates Incorporated (HAI) and STOUT Creative to help commemorate the milestone anniversary with historical research on ALA’s evolution, impact, and significance over its 150 years to craft an engaging timeline with visual assets as well as a short-form video to debut during the conference opening ceremony.
As two members of The Milestone Collective, HAI and STOUT Creative were expertly positioned to assist ALA in helping honor their anniversary. Our cohort of industry specialists help ensure that organizations are supported in celebrating their milestones and anniversaries through archival storytelling, strategic engagement, and immersive event experiences. HAI and STOUT’s decades of experience in historical research, content creation, web design, and videography ensured that the team could help ALA bring their story to life.
HAI’s Approach: Collaborative, Flexible, Adaptive
HAI and STOUT kicked off the project with ALA’s internal team to confirm our approach and ensure that the website copy and design, as well as research for timeline development and video, would be cohesive with all other ALA150 projects underway. Approaching this endeavor with a focus on collaboration ensured that HAI understood what events were considered “high priority” to ALA members as well as what visual assets were available within ALA’s internal archives at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
CREDIT: The American Library Association
Based on this essential feedback, HAI’s team of researchers began pulling together a list of key events, milestones, and initiatives for ALA’s history timeline. HAI provided multiple drafts for ALA’s review, culminating in a total of fifty-two entries spanning the organization’s 150 years. With assistance from various divisions within ALA—including their archivists, librarian, communications team, and partners—HAI provided a minimum of one visual asset per entry for a total of over 100 visual assets with corresponding captions throughout the timeline. Simultaneously, STOUT began work to build out the web design for the digital timeline and held several visioning sessions with ALA to determine aesthetics, functionality, and graphics. Once the final timeline copy and digital design was approved, STOUT worked with ALA’s web design team to help install the timeline on the organization’s dedicated ALA150 webpage. The complete, integrated timeline officially launched in May 2026.
“The timeline and video developed in collaboration with HAI and STOUT have helped ALA and our members truly visualize the impact over the past century and a half that the Association has had on the profession, and that libraries and library workers have had on the fabric of American Life. These assets have been instrumental in helping us tell our story—from decades of legislative milestones that have transformed information access and library funding to the launch of bookmobile services and nationwide literacy campaigns—and will continue to allow us to showcase the rich history of America’s libraries that touch our communities each day. While HAI and STOUT’s work helps us mark 150 years of the Association, it also helps us imagine what’s possible for our libraries in the next 150 years.”
– Daniel J. Montgomery, Executive Director, American Library Association
The American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference timeline display. CREDIT: HAI
Support at Every Step
HAI also assisted ALA in researching, securing assets, and scriptwriting for a special 150th Anniversary video that debuted at their annual conference’s opening session in June 2026. To narrate the video, ALA facilitated HAI’s introduction to former ALA President and 14th Librarian of Congress Dr. Carla Hayden. HAI’s team of experienced oral historians were expertly equipped to guide Dr. Hayden and capture a high-quality sound recording in HAI’s in-house podcast room. Through several rounds of feedback, HAI and STOUT produced an inspirational short-form video that acknowledged ALA’s storied history while emphasizing the organization’s ongoing efforts, core values, and challenges.
Building on our successful collaboration, ALA requested an additional scope of work for HAI and STOUT to provide a truncated version of the digital timeline as a physical display at their annual conference. HAI worked with ALA to select twenty-four milestones from the digital timeline to revise for inclusion on the physical panels, while STOUT worked with ALA’s fabricators to provide graphics that aligned with overall ALA150 branding.
Numbers at a Glance:
- 150 years covered
- 52 timeline entries
- 127 visual assets and captions
- 1 video with 73 visual assets for ALA’s 2026 Annual Conference
- 1 recording session with Dr. Carla Hayden (14th Librarian of Congress)
- 1 truncated physical timeline for display at ALA’s 2026 Annual Conference
For Our Libraries. For 150 Years More.
HAI and STOUT remained in constant communication with ALA’s team throughout the project to ensure all deliverables accurately captured the organization’s legacy and aligned with their ongoing ALA150 efforts and branding. As a result, ALA gained an expertly curated digital and physical timeline representative of themes, struggles, and triumphs across the organization’s history to highlight in a celebration of libraries and library workers. Additionally, ALA’s anniversary video emphasized the organization’s core values and commitment to the next 150 years—all while featuring one of the most recognizable figures in the field of librarianship, Dr. Carla Hayden. All deliverables highlighted ALA’s internal archives at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a key repository for their institutional history and helped advance celebrations connected to the 2026 ALA Annual Conference.
HAI is honored to have played a small role in highlighting ALA’s history, impact, and continued efforts to preserve and protect access to information.
“Everything is wonderful, thank you! I received very complimentary feedback from some key members on the timeline too. Thanks to the team at HAI who made this possible.”
– Melanie Welch, Director, American Library Association Public Programs Office
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