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| Ohioana Library Association | |
|---|---|
| Name | Ohioana Library Association |
| Formation | 1929 |
| Founder | Eva Perry Moore |
| Headquarters | Columbus, Ohio |
| Type | Library association, literary organization |
| Purpose | Preservation and promotion of Ohio authors, illustrators, and literary culture |
Ohioana Library Association is a nonprofit literary organization and library dedicated to collecting, preserving, and promoting the works of writers and illustrators connected with Ohio. Founded in 1929 during the tenure of A. V. Bruns and with advocacy from figures linked to the Ohio State University and the Columbus Museum of Art, the association has served as a hub for authors, scholars, and readers across Cleveland, Cincinnati, Toledo, Akron, and beyond. Its collections, programs, and awards have intersected with institutions such as the Library of Congress, the New York Public Library, and regional universities including Kent State University and Miami University.
The organization was created in the late 1920s amid literary activity tied to the Ohio Federation of Women's Clubs, the Columbus Civic Center movement, and civic leaders from Franklin County. Early champions included advocates associated with Eleanor Roosevelt-era cultural initiatives, collaborators from the American Library Association, and patrons linked to the Rockefeller Foundation and the Carnegie Corporation. During the Great Depression and New Deal era, the association navigated partnerships with the Works Progress Administration and regional authors connected to the Federal Writers' Project such as those with ties to Cleveland School writers. Postwar growth brought relationships with academic centers like the Ohio State University Libraries and literary movements featuring authors from Cincinnati's Literary Renaissance to Akron's Rubber City writers. Throughout the late 20th century the institution expanded archives tied to figures such as Sherwood Anderson, Zane Grey, Toni Morrison, Terry Pluto, R.L. Stine, Paul Laurence Dunbar, Langston Hughes, E.L. Doctorow, David McCullough, and collaborators from state cultural agencies.
The association's mission emphasizes acquisition and stewardship of materials by Ohio-associated creators, outreach to readers, and educational programming in partnership with entities like the Ohio Humanities Council, the State Library of Ohio, Columbus Metropolitan Library, Cuyahoga County Public Library, and university special collections at Case Western Reserve University and University of Cincinnati. Its holdings include manuscripts, correspondence, first editions, photographs, and oral histories by writers linked to locales including Dayton, Youngstown, Marion, Canton, and Mansfield. Notable collection strengths reflect genres represented by children's literature illustrators such as Chris Van Allsburg and Margaret Wise Brown-adjacent creators, mystery and crime authors akin to Erle Stanley Gardner-style practitioners, poetry contemporaries of William Butler Yeats-influenced Ohio poets, and nonfiction chroniclers comparable to Studs Terkel and John Gunther. The archive supports research on regional topics connected to Underground Railroad routes, industrial histories centered on Cleveland Steel and Youngstown Sheet and Tube, and cultural figures from Cincinnati Opera and Playhouse Square.
Programming spans public readings, teacher resources, school partnerships, traveling exhibits, and digital initiatives developed with partners such as Ohio History Connection, the Cleveland Museum of Art, Columbus Museum of Art, and statewide arts councils. Regular events include author panels featuring alumni associated with Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine book projects, children's literacy outreach with librarians from Akron-Summit County Public Library, and summer reading collaborations that mirror projects at the National Book Festival and state fairs like the Ohio State Fair. Services for researchers encompass fellowships, reference assistance comparable to offerings at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and interlibrary loan coordination with networks such as OhioLINK. Digital exhibits and catalog access have been developed alongside metadata standards used by the Digital Public Library of America and regional repositories coordinated through the Ohio Memory Project.
The association administers annual recognitions celebrating Ohio authors and illustrators, modeled in scope alongside honors like the Pulitzer Prize, the National Book Award, the Caldecott Medal, and the Newbery Medal in their respective domains. Awards specifically acknowledge achievement in fiction, nonfiction, poetry, children's literature, and lifetime contribution, attracting honorees with profiles comparable to Toni Morrison and E.L. Doctorow while spotlighting regionally rooted writers similar to Sherwood Anderson, Zane Grey, Paul Laurence Dunbar, John Dos Passos, James Thurber, and R.L. Stine. Prize ceremonies occur in venues across Columbus and have featured presenters from institutions such as Ohio State University, University of Akron, Miami University, and cultural partners including the Ohio Arts Council.
Governance rests with a board of trustees and advisory committees comprising librarians, academics, publishers, and civic leaders drawn from institutions like Ohio State University, Case Western Reserve University, University of Cincinnati, Bowling Green State University, and municipal cultural offices in Columbus and Cleveland. Funding streams include membership contributions, foundation grants from entities akin to the Gannett Foundation, corporate underwriting from Ohio-based companies such as Procter & Gamble and Huntington Bancshares, support from state cultural funds administered by the Ohio Arts Council and philanthropic gifts reflecting patterns seen with the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Collections and programs have intersected with numerous prominent and emerging figures: novelists and short story writers in the lineage of Sherwood Anderson and Toni Morrison; poets linked to networks including Langston Hughes and Paul Laurence Dunbar; children's authors with ties to Chris Van Allsburg and Margaret Wise Brown-adjacent creators; historians in the tradition of David McCullough; journalists echoing Studs Terkel; and contemporary genre writers in the vein of R.L. Stine. Staff, trustees, and award recipients have included librarians and scholars associated with Library of Congress initiatives, museum directors from Cleveland Museum of Art and Columbus Museum of Art, educators from Ohio State University and University of Cincinnati, and community leaders from Cuyahoga County and Franklin County.
Category:Organizations based in Ohio Category:Libraries in Ohio Category:Literary societies