Editing American Library Association (section)

====1976–2000====
Clara Stanton Jones was the first African American president of 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.<ref>"Clara Stanton Jones interviewed by Marva DeLoach," in ''Women of Color in Librarianship,'' pp.29- 57.Chicago: American Library Association Editions, 1998.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ala.org/aboutala/history/past |title=ALA's Past Presidents &#124; About ALA |date=20 November 2007 |publisher=Ala.org |access-date=2015-10-28}}</ref>

In 1979 and 1991 the ALA collaborated with the [[National Commission on Libraries and Information Science]] on two White House Conferences.<ref>Mathews, Virginia H. 2004. ''Libraries Citizens & Advocacy: The Lasting Effects of Two White House Conferences on Library and Information Services.'' Washington D.C.: White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services Taskforce.</ref>

In 1983 in response to the [[National Commission on Excellence in Education]] Report, ''[[A Nation at Risk]]'', leaders in library and information science launched  the project, "Libraries and the Learning Society."<ref>{{cite report |id={{ERIC|ED243885}} |title=Alliance for Excellence: Librarians Respond to 'A Nation at Risk.' Recommendations and Strategies from Libraries and the Learning Society |date=July 1984 }}</ref>  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 the ALA guidelines on library services to the poor.<ref>(Berman, 2001, p.&nbsp;12)</ref>

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.<ref>Whitwell, Stuart C.A. 'Understanding the New Office for Information Technology Policy.' ''American Libraries.'' V. 26. Chicago: American Library Association, 1995</ref>

The "Congress on Professional Education" took place from April 30 to May 1, 1999 in Washington, D.C.<ref>Sullivan, Peggy. "The congress on professional education: Lessons learned from library school, past and future." ''American Libraries.'' 1999;30(7):14-15.</ref> Its purpose was to reach consensus among stakeholder groups on the values and core competencies of the profession and on strategies for action to address common issues and concerns.<ref>Reichel, Mary, and Marion T. Reid. “Reports from the Congress on Professional Education.” ''College & Research Libraries News'' 60, no. 6 (June 1999): 473.</ref><ref>American Library Association [https://www.ala.org/ala/hrdr/educprofdev/congressprofessional.htm Congresses on Professional Education].
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