The Daniel W. Lester Library Postcard Collection

Dan on the left, me on the right

Today I drove to Urbana, Illinois to deliver 6,450 library postcards to the American Library Association Archives which are administered by the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. The postcards are from the collection of Dan Lester of St. George, Utah, a library postcard collector of more than four decades. Dan decided he was ready to dispose of his postcard collection and elected to donate the bulk of the collection to the ALA Archives. I volunteered to get the collection from St. George to Urbana which occurred in stages with a big assist from a friend in Denver, Colorado. I still have in my possession a large collection of duplicate and foreign library postcards which I hope to sell for Dan. Dan previously donated a large collection of library history books and library memorabilia to benefit the ALA Library History Round Table and the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center. There comes a time when all collectors have to decide on the the disposition of their collection/s or leave the chore to others after they are gone. Kudos to Dan for passing on his collections to benefit the promotion and preservation of library history.

Lester library postcard collection sorted by state & community ready to load up for the trip to Urbana.

Loaded & ready for delivery.

Archives Research Center at the Univ. of Illinois, new home to the Lester library postcard collection.