American Library Association Honorary Membership

Honorary Membership conferred by the American Library Association is the Association's highest award. "Honorary membership may be conferred on a living citizen of any country whose contribution to librarianship or a closely related field is so outstanding that it is of lasting importance to the advancement of the whole field of library service. It is intended to reflect honor upon the ALA as well as upon the individual." The Honorary Membership award was established in 1879.

The first Honorary Memberships were bestowed in 1879 to Charles William Eliot, President of Harvard University and Frederick O. Prince Trustee of the Boston Public Library. References