"Historical Moments"

The "Historical Moment" is a fixture at the PTPL Annual Meeting.  Below are two examples from previous years.



We’ve been talking a lot about change today, and we’ll be talking about more change this afternoon.  Who says change isn’t good?  Look at what a great group of people it’s made us!    PTPL members have talked about technological change for years: from nearly the beginning of our history.

• 1947-we talked about the “New developments in the teaching of cataloging”
• 1948-we talked about the “New rules for descriptive cataloging”
• 1965- we talked about “Training for Mechanization”
• 1986 we talked about the “Compleate Librarian—Changing Roles in a Total-System Environment”
• 1987- we wondered if “Catalogers would be come an endangered species”  Surely that’s not happened!  Haha!
• 1988 –we learned how to “Buy Technology”
• 1989 We learned how to “integrate format”
• 1990 we learned how to “manage chaos”
• 1991 We learned new systems and new savvy while training to deal with new technologies
• 1993 We learned who was REALLY in the drivers seat
• 1995 we learned how to harness the wind of changes
• 2003 we discussed the change and future of MARC
• 2004 We learned how to serve and preserve digital collections
• 2008 Here we are again riding the wave of change in Technical services
  

Change never changes.  It keeps coming at us all angles and never stops.  Change is good for us and helps us to survive.  As we can see, change is a part of our history, and it will always be a part of our future.  Let’s embrace it to the fullest and ride out the waves!!!



The ALA, ALCTS, Council of Regional Groups, with which PTPL is affiliated celebrated its 75th anniversary last year, and this year PTPL is celebrating its 75th anniversary.

In 1922, as Chair of the ALA Committee on the Reorganization of the Catalog Section, Margaret Mann was calling upon catalogers in various parts of the country to discuss the problems involved with such a reorganization. She called regional meetings of catalogers to discuss common problems. The first regional meeting was in St. Paul-Minneapolis. Then meetings followed in Chicago, Cincinnati, and Washington, DC.

On April 10, 1923, Margaret Mann met with a group of catalogers from Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia at a dinner sponsored by ALA and a DCLA committee chaired by Harriet Pierson. It was at this meeting that PTPL was "conceived", and its name was to be the Maryland, Virginia and District of Columbia Regional Group of Cataloguers and Classifiers.

Margaret Mann submitted her committee report at the 1923 ALA Conference and recommended that the Catalog Section sanction regional meetings and adopt rules for affiliated groups. Each group was to consist of at least 10 members, would have its own officers, and determine its own dues. Each group would hold at least one meeting each year and would sent a report of its meeting to ALA. It was also recommended that an Advisory Council be formed consisting of one representative from each affiliated group. The recommendation was adopted by ALA.

At the 1924 ALA Conference, it was reported that Washington, DC, among others, were planning meetings. PTPL, (as it came to be known in 1960), met on its own for the first time on November 25, 1924, in Richmond, Virginia. Charles Martel, Harriet Pierson and Ellen Hedrich were the committee presenting the constitution and by-laws, which were adopted. Wilmer Lee Hall, of The Virginia State Library was elected the first Chair and PTPL was "born"; being one of the first affiliated regional groups.

By 1925, the list of groups was growing rapidly. Some did not survive, but some of the original groups are still active today and PTPL stands among them. There are now about 47 affiliated groups and ours is approximately 400 strong. We have 180 corporate members and 239 individual members. Just this year we have added 41 new members, 2 of whom are students. Our members have actively participated both on regional and national levels serving PTPL and the Council of Regional Groups.

The Council of Regional Groups continues to introduce librarians to ALA/ALCTS by involving members of regional groups with CRG and then nurturing and developing them for leadership in the total organization. PTPL's members have served, are serving, and have been appointed or elected to serve CRG in the following capacities: Regional Representatives, Members of the Affiliate Relations Committee, CRG representatives to the ALCTS Membership and Program Committees, and Secretary of CRG.


Kay D. Guiles, 40 year member

This year we conducted a survey to find the PTPL members who have been with for the longest period of time. The following members were honored and received PTPL mugs: Kay D. Guiles of the Library of Congress, who is a 40 year member; Mary K. Feldman of Mary K. Feldman Associates, a 35 year member; and Kathern J. Miraglia of Catholic University of America, a 30 year member.

Happy 75th Anniversary, Potomac Technical Processing Librarians!


Submitted by Marianne C. Rough, Prince George's Community College

Based on:

Potomac Technical Processing Librarians - A History by Paula Kieffer, Baltimore County Public Library and Peggy Marguart, Enoch Pratt Library

and

History of Council of Regional Groups by Mary Faust, Ball State University Library, Muncie, IN