Papers of Henry J. Carr (1849-1929), ALA Secretary (1898-99) and President (1900-01), including personal correspondence, programs and circular letters, concerning ALA conference plans and programs, publicity, the revision of the ALA constitution (1899), requests for membership in ALA or copies of the handbook and the choice of a new Librarian of Congress.

Correspondents include Clement W. Andrews (John Crerar Library), William H. Brett (Cleveland Public Library), Melvil Dewey, Charles A. Cutter, Helen E. Haines (recorder for ALA), Frank P. Hill (Newark Free Public Library), Frank A. Hutchins (Secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission), William C. Lane (President of ALA), Reuben G. Thwaites (Secretary of the State Historical Society of Wisconsin), Anne Wallace (Young Men's Library Association of Atlanta) and Frederick W. Faxon (Secretary of ALA). The papers include a calendar of letters sent, an original manuscript and survey about library charging systems (1889), advertisements, programs of ALA conventions, arrangements for a library exhibit at the Jamestown Exposition (1906) and the ALA Catalog (1902-04).

Henry J. Carr was born on August 16, 1849 in Pembroke, New Hampshire and where he remained until age sixteen when he moved with his family to Grand Rapids, Michigan. He worked as an accountant and cashier from 1866 until 1878 when he began law school at the University of Michigan. During this time, he enrolled in bibliography and library science courses taught by the University's librarian, Raymond C. Davis. In 1879 he was admitted to the Kent County bar, though he never ended up practicing law. He continued to work as an accountant until 1886 when he was selected as the public librarian of the Grand Rapids Public Library. In 1890, he accepted a position from St. Joseph, Missouri to open the St. Joseph Public Library, which he facilitated in 1891. That same year, he accepted a position as chief administrator of the new Albright Memorial Library in Scranton, Pennsylvania, where he remained as a public librarian for 38 years until his death.

Henry J. Carr was member of ALA for fifty years, having joined in 1879 as member number 215. In that time, he only missed eight conferences. He served in a number of roles, including treasurer (1886-93), recorder (1894-95), vice-president (1895-96), secretary (1898-1900), and President (1900-01). In addition, Carr was also vice-president and then president of the Pennsylvania Library Club, president of the Keystone Library Association (1907-08), and a fellow of the American Library Institute from its establishment in 1905. He died on May 21, 1929 [1].