This honor roll for Illinois libraries serves the dual purpose of recognizing outstanding voices in the library community, while creating a legacy through the ILA Endowment to continue their important work.
2009
Peggy Sullivan, 1929 - 2020
Peggy Sullivan received the American Library Association's (ALA) highest honor in being named an Honorary ALA Member in 2008, recognizing more than fifty years of dedicated service to the profession of librarianship.
Illinois was fortunate, indeed, to have Sullivan and her boundless energy in residence. Sullivan received her doctorate from the University of Chicago and was widely regarded for her leadership in the field.
Her many achievements include having served as director of the Knapp School Libraries Project, commissioner for Extension Services at the Chicago Public Library, dean of the Graduate School of Library and Information Science at Rosary College (now Dominican University), and dean of the College of Professional Studies at Northern Illinois University.
She mentored many librarians in Illinois and served as inspiration to others through these positions as well as through her leadership in professional associations, having served as president of ALA's Children's Services Division (now the Association for Library Service to Children or ALSC), ALA President, and ALA Executive Director.
Sullivan was an active member of the profession and a powerful advocate for libraries.
Inducted 2009
Mary Josephine Booth, 1876-1965
Eastern Illinois University's Booth Library nominates its namesake, Mary Josephine Booth (1876-1965), to be recognized as an ILA Illinois Library Luminary. From 1904 to 1945 (41 years), Booth served as the library director at Eastern.
Diligent and industrious, dedicated and efficient, Booth built a library collection to support the ever-changing needs of the institution. She promoted library literacy as essential for all educated people. She inspired generations of students and educators to value libraries.
She spearheaded a successful twenty-year campaign for a new library building at Eastern (completed in 1950). Professionally, she was very active in the Illinois Library Association, serving as treasurer from 1913-1914, and as president from 1915-1916.
Booth served with the American Library Association overseas during World War I. As a scholar, she gave a variety of presentations, wrote articles for professional journals, and authored several important bibliographies.
Inducted December 4, 2009
Judith Fingeret Krug, 1940-2009
No person is more closely identified with libraries and the cause of intellectual freedom than Judith F. Krug, ILA member and director of the American Library Association's Office for Intellectual Freedom since it was founded in 1967.
During that time, Krug helped to found the Freedom to Read Foundation and served as its executive director from 1969 until her death in 2009. In 1982, she helped to create Banned Books Week, now an annual event.
An April 14, 2009, editorial in the New York Times celebrated Krug's role in promoting and protecting a precious First Amendment right: the freedom to read. The editorial noted that Krug, "assisted countless local librarians and library trustees dealing with objections to library materials."
Among her many honors, Krug received an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the 2009 William J. Brennan Award, presented posthumously by the Thomas Jefferson Center for the Protection of Free Expression.
Inducted December 4, 2009
Bridget Later Lamont
Bridget Later Lamont served as director of the Illinois State Library for more than a decade from 1983 – 1999. In the position, she fostered library development, expanded use of technology in libraries, and encouraged multi-type library cooperation.
Lamont later served as director of Policy Development for the Governor of Illinois. Lamont also served as Vice Chairman of the U.S. National Commission on Libraries and Information Science.
She received the 1990 Outstanding Achievement Award from the American Library Association, was named Librarian of the Year by the Illinois Library Association in 1991, and received an honorary doctorate from Rosary College (now Dominican University) in 1994.
Inducted December 4, 2009
Barry Levine, 1950-2009
Barry Levine was a "champion" for all things library -- including accessibility. A distinguished leader, popular and respected throughout the state, Levine's passion, leadership and outstanding work for libraries earned him much recognition.
He received ILA's Trustee of the Year Award in 2001, the Alexander J. Skrzypek Award in 2004, and the Robert S. Bray award in 2009, among others. Levine was also a founding member of ISL's Talking Book and Braille Service.
His dedication to library users crossed a broad spectrum. He was a true visionary who contributed to effectively moving libraries into the future and embracing service for all.
Inducted December 4, 2009
Sarah Ann Long
As the former director of the North Suburban Library System (NSLS), Sarah Long led an organization of more than 650 academic, public, school, and special libraries in the north/northwest suburbs of Chicago.
Long was president of the American Library Association in 1999-2000 and is a past president of the Public Library Association. In her more than forty years of library leadership, she has worked with libraries and library organizations in five states, including Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Oregon, and worked as an academic librarian in England.
Often ahead of her time, Long pioneered Internet access in NSLS libraries and earlier in her career led winning library referenda campaigns in Pennsylvania and Oregon. A frequent speaker and contributor at conferences, online, and in print, she is a six-time recipient of the John Cotton Dana Award for excellence in public relations, presented annually by the American Library Association. Her many awards and recognitions include being named the ILA Librarian of the Year in 1999.
Inducted December 4, 2009
Michael Madden
As former director of the Schaumburg Township District Library, Michael Madden was a leading force in local, state and national arenas, representing libraries and lending his talents to keep libraries relevant.
He served on and chaired numerous ILA and ALA committees during his more than forty years in the profession, served as ILA Treasurer, and taught classes in business librarianship at Rosary College (now Dominican University). His mentoring skills resulted in several former staff members becoming library directors, as well as one being elected president of ILA.
Among his innovations as a library director, he worked to install two teens as library trustees benefiting the library and the community.
Inducted December 4, 2009
Patricia Ann Scarry, 1949-2009
Patricia Scarry was the director of the Sussex County (Delaware) Department of Libraries and the Fairfield (South Carolina) County Library prior to arriving in Illinois.
She joined the American Library Association (ALA) in 1980 to establish the Chapter Relations Office and served as the association's liaison to ILA and other state associations throughout the 1980s.
As one of the youngest presidents of the Delaware Library Association, she brought the perspective of member affiliates to ALA and worked to make the larger association responsive to the needs of the state associations.
As ALA Membership Director, she was a technology innovator, leading ALA's transition to a database driven membership system and implementing new technologies for key member services. She was a tireless advocate for reading, libraries, and the disenfranchised.
Inducted December, 4 2009
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