ILA’s Origins
Officially founded in 1896, the association now consists of 3,000 members representing all types of libraries across the state.
The first meeting of what was to become the Illinois Library Association was held November 22-23, 1881. Originally called the Western Library Association (WLA), it met twice, in 1881 and again in 1884, both times in Illinois. William Frederick Poole was its first president and its avowed purpose was to promote cooperative purchasing and cataloging. The WLA ceased to exist in 1885. Ten years later, members of the Chicago Library Club proposed forming a state library association and held a meeting in Springfield to officially launch the Illinois Library Association. The vision and spirit of these early founding members---Katharine Sharp, Percy F. Bicknell, Dr. G.E. Wire, and others—has been echoed by countless ILA members and leaders through the years.
Illinois Library Association Presidents
1896 Thomas H. Nelson
1897 Col. J. W. Thompson
1898 Col. J. W. Thompson
1899 Col. J. W. Thompson
1900 E. S. Willcox
1901 E. S. Willcox
1902 Anderson H. Hopkins
1903 Anderson H. Hopkins
1904 Katherine L. Sharp
1905 Carl B. Roden
1906 Mary B. Lindsay
1907 C. J. Barr, H. C. Remann, & Ange V. Milner
1908 Mary Eileen Ahern
1909 Mary Eileen Ahern
1910 Nellie E. Parham
1911 Henry E. Legler
1912 J. C. M. Hanson
1913 Phineas L. Windsor
1914 F. K. W. Drury
1915 Mary Eileen Ahern
1916 Mary J. Booth
1917 C. J. Barr & Effie A. Lansden
1918 Jane P. Hubbell
1919 Jane P. Hubbell
1920 Helen A. Bagley
1921 Effie A. Lansden
1922 John S. Cleavinger
1923 Ida F. Wright
1924 Adah F. Whitcomb
1925 George B. Utley
1926 Harriet M. Skogh
1927 Harriet M. Skogh
1928 Lucy Wilson Errett
1929 Earl W. Browning
1930 Michael Gallagher
1931 Alice William
1932 Emily V. D. Miller
1933 Winifred Ver Nooy
1934 Anna May Price
1935 Phineas L. Windsor
1936 Sue Osmotherly
1937 William F. Baehr
1938 Earl W. Browning
1939 Katherine L. Arzinger
1940 Nathan R. Levin
1941 Emily Minter
1942 Arnold H. Trotier
1943 Dorothy E. Hiatt
1944 Pearl I. Field
1945 Sarah S. Molony
1946 Andrew B. Lemke
1947 Alice Lohrer
1948 Ruth W. Gregory
1949 Eleanor Plain
1950 Ruth A. Hardin
1951 Andre S. Nielsen
1952 Gertrude Gscheidle & Eleanor Welch
1953 Eleanor Plain
1954 Mildred L. Nickel
1955 Marguerite Giezentanner
1956 Robert B. Downs
1957 Ralph E. McCoy
1958 Miriam H. Johnson
1959 Alex Ladesnon
1960 Miriam Peterson
1961 Elizabeth O. Stone
1962 Phyllis Maggeroli
1963 William Bryan
1964 Lucien White
1965 Charles DeYoung
1966 Julius Chitwood
1967 Harold Goldstein
1968 Harold Rath
1969 Mary Ann Swanson
1970 de Lafayette Reid
1971 Joe W. Kraus
1972 Donald E. Wright
1973 Peter Bury
1974 Margaret Dees
1975 Alice Ihrig
1976 Edna Holland
1977 Melvin George
1978 Frank J. Dempsey
1979 Dawn Heller
1980 Betty Simpson
1981 Robert McClarren
1982 Clayton Highum
1983 Judy Drescher
1984 Valerie J. Wilford
1985 Harold Hungerford
1986 Robert Plotzke
1987 Carla Funk
1988 Marlene Deuel
1989 Fred Peterson
1990 Estelle Black
1991 Brent Crossland
1992 Randy Wilson
1993 Jay Wozny
1994 Lee A. Logan
1995 Sue Stroyan
1996 Ruth E. Faklis
1997 Kathleen M. Balcom
1998 Pamela Gaitskill
1999 Carolyn Anthony
2000 Denise Zielinski
2001 Arthur P. Young
2002 Sylvia Murphy Williams
2003 Nancy M. Gillfillan
2004 Allen Lanham
2005 Dianne Harmon
2006 Tamiye Meehan
2007 Bradley F. Baker
2008 Donna Dziedzic
2009 Carole A. Medal
2010 Gail Bush
2011 Lynn Elam
2012 Pamela Van Kirk
2013 Su Erickson
2014 Jeannie Dilger
2015 Betsy Adamowski
2016 Pattie Piotrowski
2017 Melissa Gardner
2018 Cynthia Fuerst
2019 Molly Beestrum
2020 Veronica De Fazio
2021 Jeanne Hamilton
2022 Heather Jagman
2023 Ryan Johnson
2024 Amy Byers
ILA Executive Directors
1973-75 James A. Harvey (Executive Secretary)
1976-78 John R. Coyne (Executive Secretary)
1979-80 Alfred L. Woods (Executive Secretary)
1981-82 Judith C. Burnison
1983-89 Willine C. Mahony
1989 James Steenbergen (acting)
1990-93 Barbara Manchak Cunningham
1993-95 Jane E. Getty
1995 Donna Dziedzic (interim)
1996-2017 Robert P. Doyle
2017-2022 Diane Foote
2022-present Cynthia M. Robinson
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