Tamora Pierce (born December 13, 1954) is an American writer of fantasy fiction for teenagers , known best for stories featuring young heroines. She made a name for herself with her first book series , The Song of the Lioness (1983–1988), which followed the main character Alanna through the trials and triumphs of training as a knight.
47-751: Pierce won the Margaret A. Edwards Award from the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA) of the American Library Association in 2013, citing her two quartets Song of the Lioness and Protector of the Small (1999–2002). The annual award recognizes one writer and a particular body of work for "significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". Pierce's books have been translated into twenty languages. Pierce
94-475: A historically black college or university . She also was president during COVID-19 and the live annual conference was cancelled and delivered virtually. Brown characterized her presidency as one of "change, loss, and hope." In 2021, Patty Wong became the first Asian-American president of the ALA. In 2022 Lessa Kananiʻopua Pelayo-Lozada was the first Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander American president. In 2023
141-668: A group of librarians proposed that the ALA schedule a new round table program discussion on the social responsibilities of librarians at its annual conference in Kansas City . This group called themselves the Organizing Committee for the ALA Round Table on Social Responsibilities of Libraries. This group drew in many other under-represented groups in the ALA who lacked power, including the Congress for Change in 1969. This formation of
188-719: A permanent committee – Committee on Intellectual Freedom. The ALA made revisions to strengthen the Library Bill of Rights in June 1948, approved the Statement on Labeling in 1951 to discourage labeling material as subversive, and adopted the Freedom to Read Statement and the Overseas Library Statement in 1953. The ALA has worked throughout its history to define, extend, protect and advocate for equity of access to information. In 1945
235-574: A standard against censorship and was adopted by the ALA in 1939. This has been recognized as the moment defining modern librarianship as a profession committed to intellectual freedom and the right to read. ALA appointed a committee to study censorship and recommend policy after the banning of the novel The Grapes of Wrath in Kern County , California and the implementation of the Library Bill of Rights. The committee reported in 1940 that intellectual freedom and professionalism were linked and recommended
282-402: A time when the publishing world has little diversity. Works from authors and illustrators of color make up less than 8 percent of children's titles produced in 2013. The ALA hopes this regrettable incident will be used to open a dialogue on the need for diversity in the publishing industry, particularly in regards to books for young people." In 2020 Wanda Kay Brown was the first president from
329-422: A wide range of young adults in the many different parts of the country". Furthermore, the winner must "agree to personally accept the award at the following Annual Conference", about five months after the selection. SLJ editor Gerhardt covered the award at least once, in an editorial at the time of inaugural presentation to S. E. Hinton (June 1988). For some time beginning 1990, the June issue of SLJ covered
376-656: Is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. During the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, 103 librarians, 90 men and 13 women, responded to a call for a "Convention of Librarians" to be held October 4–6, 1876, at the Historical Society of Pennsylvania . IL At
423-455: Is based on a friend of Pierce's. Beka's pigeon friends in Provost's Dog are all based on actual pigeons of Pierce's acquaintance. Pierce first started writing to escape from the drama of her parents' divorce. She wrote fan fiction based on her favorite stories, imitating them closely. Pierce says she decided to write her stories about strong female characters because she noticed a lack of them in
470-542: The 2024–2025 term is Cindy Hohl . President-elect, Sam Helmick , will preside in 2025-2026. The executive director of the American Library Association delegates authority within ALA headquarters to ALA’s department heads, who, in carrying out their assigned duties, are called upon to use ALA’s name, and, in that name, to commit the Association to programs, activities, and binding agreements. Secretaries of
517-541: The 40th anniversary of Alanna: The First Adventure. Margaret A. Edwards Award The Margaret A. Edwards Award is an American Library Association (ALA) literary award that annually recognizes an author and "a specific body of his or her work, for significant and lasting contribution to young adult literature". It is named after Margaret A. Edwards (1902–1988), the longtime director of young adult services at Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore . The award
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#1732852151236564-582: The ALA "does not promote any 'ideology'". The Association received the Toni Morrison Achievement Award from the National Book Critics Circle . The Library History Round Table published the "Bibliography of Library History" database containing over 7,000 entries for books, articles, and theses in library history and related fields published from 1990 to 2022. Cindy Hohl , the first SPECTRUM Scholar to be elected president
611-597: The ALA and the Office for Literacy and Outreach were established in 1970. In 1971, Barbara Gittings staffed a kissing booth at the ALA Conference underneath the banner, "Hug a Homosexual." This was the precipitating event that evolved into the Rainbow Round Table dedicated to supporting the information needs of LGBTQIA+ people. The American Library Association celebrated its centennial in 1976. In commemoration
658-676: The ALA commissioned a study, Access to Public Libraries , which found direct and indirect discrimination in American libraries. In 1967, some librarians protested against a pro- Vietnam War speech given by General Maxwell D. Taylor at the annual ALA conference in San Francisco; the former president of Sarah Lawrence College , Harold Taylor , spoke to the Middle-Atlantic Regional Library Conference about socially responsible professionalism; and less than one year later
705-663: The ALA established an Office in Washington, D.C. named the National Relations Office under the direction of Paul Howard. In 1961, the ALA took a stand regarding service to African Americans and others, advocating for equal library service for all. An amendment to the Library Bill of Rights was passed in 1961 that made clear that an individual's library use should not be denied or abridged because of race, religion, national origin, or political views. Some communities decided to close their doors rather than desegregate. In 1963,
752-410: The ALA guidelines on library services to the poor. The Office for Information Technology Policy was established in 1995 to act as a public policy advocate for libraries in the area of information technology. The "Congress on Professional Education" took place from April 30 to May 1, 1999 in Washington, D.C., with over 100 participating. Its purpose was to reach consensus among stakeholder groups on
799-399: The ALA midwinter meeting and the citation and $ 2000 cash prize are presented at a luncheon during the ALA annual conference (June 27–July 2 in 2013). The "young adult" class of books developed in library collections and publisher promotions, and young adult literature became a "respected field of study", in the second half of the twentieth century. When School Library Journal initiated
846-589: The ALA, serving as its acting president from April 11 to July 22 in 1976 upon the death of Allie Beth Martin and then elected president from July 22, 1976 to 1977. In 1979 and 1991 the ALA collaborated with the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science on two White House Conferences. In 1983 in response to the National Commission on Excellence in Education Report, A Nation at Risk , leaders in library and information science launched
893-405: The ALA. In 2014, Courtney Young , president of the association, commented on the background and implications of a racist joke author Daniel Handler made as African American writer Jacqueline Woodson received a National Book Award for Brown Girl Dreaming . "His comments were inappropriate and fell far short of the association's commitment to diversity," said Young. "Handler's remarks come at
940-512: The Arbuthnot selection, inaugurated in 1970, another career award for contribution to children's literature. The lecturer prepares and delivers —currently about 16 months after selection— "a paper considered to be a significant contribution to the field of children's literature", which is also published in the ALSC journal. American Library Association The American Library Association ( ALA )
987-484: The Association prior to Carl Milam were George Burwell Utley (1911–20); Chalmers Hadley (1909–11); Edward C. Hovey (1905–7); James Ingersoll Wyer (1902–09); Frederick Winthrop Faxon (1900–02); Henry James Carr (1898–1900); Melvil Dewey (1897–98); Rutherford Platt Hayes (1896–97); Henry Livingston Elmendorf (1895–96); Frank Pierce Hill (1891–95); Mary Salome Cutler (1891); William E. Parker (1890– 1891) and Melvil Dewey (1879–90). The official purpose of
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#17328521512361034-731: The Bibliographical Society of America . In 1911, Theresa Elmendorf became ALA's first woman president. An analysis of the writings of the first fifteen women presidents gives more insight into the expanded role of women in the association. During World War I the ALA Executive Board initiated by Walter Lewis Brown established the Library War Service Committee to supply books and periodicals to military personnel at home and overseas. The American Library in Paris
1081-577: The Library History Round Table has been documented by the first archivist, Maynard Britchford. Additionally, the American Library Association Institutional Repository (ALAIR) provides digital access to the publications and intellectual work of the Association. ALA membership is open to any person or organization, though most of its members are libraries or librarians. Most members live and work in
1128-608: The Public Library Association of ALA published the Public Library Services for Strong Communities Report addressing the myriad ways libraries nationwide serve and sustain their communities. That same year, the Montana State Library Commission withdrew from the ALA, citing comments made by Emily Drabinski , who self-identified as a "Marxist lesbian". The Digital Public Library Ecosystem
1175-537: The United States, with international members comprising 3.5% of total membership. The ALA is governed by an elected council and an executive board. Policies and programs are administered by committees and round tables. One of the organization's most visible tasks is overseen by the Office for Accreditation, which formally reviews and authorizes American and Canadian academic institutions that offer degree programs in library and information science . ALA's President for
1222-487: The association is "to promote library service and librarianship." Members may join one or more of eight membership divisions that deal with specialized topics such as academic, school, or public libraries, technical or reference services, and library administration. Members may also join any of the nineteen round tables that are grouped around more specific interests and issues than the broader set of ALA divisions. Task forces: The Committee on Literacy develops and recommends
1269-553: The association published Libraries and the Life of the Mind in America. The American Library Association Archives, established at the time of the centennial, created an online exhibit which includes a history of the centennial. Clara Stanton Jones , president, Inaugural address was titled, “The First Step into ALA’s Second Century.” Clara Stanton Jones was the first African American president of
1316-422: The award approved in 1986 was unusually long even with initialisms, "The SLJ Young Adult Author Award/Selected and Administered by the ALA's YASD". In the 1988 and 1990 award citations as presented online decades later, it is called the "Young Adult Services Division/ School Library Journal Author Achievement Award". During the third cycle it was made annual and renamed for the recently deceased Edwards. As of
1363-683: The award for YA writers, the ALA awards program recognized the YA class only by annual lists of recommended books, the Best Books for Young Adults and a list "for the reluctant YA reader". (Indeed, the Printz Award for the year's best book was established only in 1999.) Chief editor Lillian N. Gerhardt determined that SLJ should merely sponsor the award and recruited the ALA Young Adult Services Division to administer it. The official name of
1410-481: The base of the worlds she thought up as a girl, and later she added contemporary issues like youth crime and cholera outbreaks in Africa . In general, Pierce states: "The best way to prepare to have ideas when you need them is to listen to and encourage your obsessions." Pierce draws on elements of people and animals around her for inspiration. The character of Alanna is loosely based on Pierce's sister. Thayet's appearance
1457-475: The books she read when she was young. In November 2018, the first line of officially licensed merchandise was created in partnership with Dual Wield Studio: pins, apparel and accessories developed in collaboration with creators from the Tamora Pierce fanbase. The collection expanded in 2020 to include a rendition of the map of Tortall. At the end of 2023, Dual Wield Studio announced a new collection celebrating
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1504-623: The committee was approved in 1969 and would change its name to the Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT) in 1971. After its inception, the Round Table of Social Responsibilities began to press ALA leadership to address issues such as library unions, working conditions, wages, and intellectual freedom. The Freedom to Read Foundation was founded by Judith Krug , Alexander Allain , and Carrie C Robinson and established by ALA's executive board in 1969. The Black Caucus of
1551-867: The current award and carried an interview with the preceding winner. The award has been conferred 35 times in the 36 years through 2023. The honored writers have been natives and lifelong residents of the United States except Anne McCaffrey , Terry Pratchett , Susan Cooper , and Markus Zusak . No one has won both the Edwards Award and the Children's Literature Legacy Award , which the ALA children's division ( ALSC ) awards for "substantial and lasting contributions to children's literature" (from 1954, now annual). Four Edwards winners have been selected by ALSC to deliver its annual May Hill Arbuthnot Lecture : Susan Cooper in 2001, Ursula K. Le Guin in 2004, Walter Dean Myers in 2009, and Lois Lowry in 2011. ALSC considers
1598-623: The department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Northern Illinois University . Pierce was also actively involved in moderating and discussing her novels on a message board called Sheroes Central from about 2001-2006, at which point it was acquired by a third party. On her homepage, Pierce states she gets most ideas from things she stumbles upon. Her concept of magic as a tapestry of threads comes from her experiences in crocheting, and in her world, all mages are somehow based on British naturalist David Attenborough after watching his nature documentaries. Fantasy novels and Arthurian legend were
1645-674: The end of the meeting, according to Edward G. Holley in his essay "ALA at 100", "the register was passed around for all to sign who wished to become charter members", making October 6, 1876, the date of the ALA's founding. Among the 103 librarians in attendance were Justin Winsor ( Boston Public Library and Harvard University ), William Frederick Poole ( Chicago Public Library and Newberry College ), Charles Ammi Cutter ( Boston Athenæum ), Melvil Dewey , Charles Evans ( Indianapolis Public Library ) and Richard Rogers Bowker . Attendees came from as far west as Chicago and from England. The ALA
1692-411: The fourth cycle, 1991/1992, the committee was charged to select "a living author or co-author whose book or books, over a period of time, have been accepted by young people as an authentic voice that continues to illuminate their experiences and emotions, giving insight into their lives." Among other specific criteria, the body of work should have "acceptable literary quality" and be "currently popular with
1739-577: The project, "Libraries and the Learning Society." Librarians examined how public libraries, academic libraries, library and information science training institutions, and school library media centers could best respond to A Nation at Risk. In June 1990, the ALA approved "Policy on Library Services to the Poor" and in 1996 the Task Force on Hunger, Homelessness, and Poverty was formed to resurrect and promote
1786-675: The school paper. She is an alumna of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia . While at the University of Pennsylvania, Pierce wrote the books that became The Song of the Lioness quartet. The first book of this quartet, Alanna: The First Adventure was published by Atheneum Books in 1983. Pierce lived with her husband Tim Liebe (Spouse-Creature) in New York City , with their four cats and multiple other pets, until they moved to Syracuse, New York . In 2008, she donated her archive to
1833-592: The sixth grade. Her interest in fantasy and science fiction began when she was introduced to J. R. R. Tolkien 's The Lord of the Rings , and so she started to write the kind of books that she was reading. After her parents divorced, her mother moved her and her sisters back to Fayette County in 1969, where she spent two years at Albert Gallatin Senior High. When her family moved again, she spent her senior year at Uniontown Area Senior High School, acting, singing, and writing for
1880-413: The values and core competencies of the profession and on strategies for action to address common issues and concerns. At the beginning of the century The Congress on Professional Education recommended that the Association develop a set of Core Values. In 2007, Loriene Roy was elected as the first Native American President of the ALA. In 2009, Camila Alire became the first Hispanic president of
1927-520: Was born in South Connellsville, Pennsylvania in Fayette County , on December 13, 1954 to Wayne and Mary Lou Pierce. Her mother wanted to name her "Tamara" but the nurse who filled out her birth certificate misspelled it as "Tamora". When she was five, her sister Kimberly (on whom she based Alanna) was born and a year later her second sister, Melanie, was born. From the time she was five until she
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1974-511: Was chartered in 1879 in Massachusetts . Its headquarters office is in Chicago . Another important founder was Frederick Leypoldt , publisher of Library Journal , who published the conference proceedings. Justin Winsor was the first president of the ALA, serving from 1876 until 1885. Many early presidents were also officers in the Bibliographical Society of America. See List of presidents of
2021-723: Was eight, she lived in Dunbar . In June 1963 she and her family moved to California . They first lived in San Mateo on El Camino Real and then moved to the other side of the San Francisco Peninsula , in Miramar. They lived in Miramar for half a year, in El Granada a full year, and then three years in Burlingame . She began reading when she was very young and started writing when she was in
2068-482: Was founded as part of this effort. In the 1930s, library activists pressured the American Library Association to be more responsive to issues such as peace, segregation, library unions, and intellectual freedom. In 1931, the Junior Members Round Table (JMRT) was formed to provide a voice for the younger members of the ALA. The first Library Bill of Rights (LBR) was drafted by Forrest Spaulding to set
2115-493: Was inaugurated in 1988 as the biennial " School Library Journal Young Adult Author Award/Selected and Administered by the American Library Association's Young Adult Services Division". After 1990, it was renamed and made annual. It continues to be sponsored by School Library Journal and administered by the Young Adult Library Services Association , descendant of YASD. The winner is announced during
2162-548: Was inaugurated in July 2024. Her presidential theme is “A Good Way for ALA.” Standards for Library Services for the Incarcerated or Detained was published in 2024. The ALA Archives, including historical documents, non-current records, and digital records, are held at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign archives. The establishment of the archives and the roles of David Horace Clift , Robert Wedgeworth , Beta Phi Mu , and
2209-443: Was published by ALA in 2023. It is a comprehensive overview of the current state and operations of the relationships and roles of stakeholders including authors, agents, publishers, distributors, the library community, governments, and trade organizations. In 2024, in response to proposed Georgia legislation that would prohibit public expenditures on the ALA, the ALA responded that the legislation "is based on false narratives", and
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