Gale sponsors two librarians to attend the National Library Legislative Day event in Washington, D.C., to meet with congressional representatives and senators to advocate for the importance of libraries alongside hundreds of library supporters, leaders, and patrons, as well as provides breakfast and other resources to support the hundreds of attendees. Gale’s...

Hundreds of employees participate in the Gale Charity Challenge, raising $15,000 for the Downtown Boxing Gym Youth Program in Detroit, which focuses on “books before boxing,” community service, and gives students access to tutoring and educational resources. Gale partners with EveryLibrary for a media campaign to increase awareness of the role libraries play...

The My Library Story campaign page 2014 Gale initiates a campaign encouraging everyone to share My Library Story through a newly created online community designed to help libraries tell a strong value story around their impact. Gale, in partnership with ALA, sponsors the Award for Excellence in Business Librarianship, given to recognize...

Gale supports the ALA during its Rally for Libraries on Capitol Hill on June 29 during the ALA conference with 'Vote For Libraries' t-shirts and bus services.    Gale provides free access to GREENR during the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill, giving libraries access to comprehensive coverage, the latest news, case studies, podcasts, videos, and other primary source information. ...

2009   Gale supports the Michigan Library Association’s September 10th rally to oppose state budget cuts to library funding by providing bus service to the capitol from two Michigan locations, as well as t-shirts and other resources for more than 250 people. Continuing a tradition for over 40 years, Gale serves as a sponsor for bus transportation...

Gale supports libraries through advocacy, access, and celebration at ALA with events and activities such as: Librareo songwriting and releasing news of new tools to help simplify the process for driving users to library resources. Gale Promo launches under Gale's “Power to the User, Value to the Library” campaign, providing libraries with access to free marketing...

2007 Gale partners with Library Media Connection magazine to create the TEAMS Award (Teachers and Media Specialists Influencing Student Achievement) to celebrate critical collaboration between libraries and teacher to students.

  Gale, in partnership with ALA, launches the Multicultural Award. Standards for this award are any significant accomplishments in library services that are national or international in scope and that include improving, spreading, and promoting multicultural librarianship. Gale announces a mammoth 20-million-page project that will bring the 18th century's...

        1998 Gale begins the Hillside Mentor program, where employees read to students during their lunch breaks to improve communication skills for poor readers. The program still continues today.

Gale and Library Journal launch the Library of the Year Award, giving the first award and $5,000 to Redwood City Public Library. The award doubled to $10,000 in 1994 and continues today. 1992  

Workers organize books after fire at Los Angeles Public Library 1986   Gale donates a large reference collection to the Los Angeles Public Library after a fire. The main building sustained massive losses on April 29th at 10:52 AM, burning 20% of their collection and inflicting serious water and smoke damage.  

The Council for Florida Libraries initiates its first Key West Literary Tour and Seminar, gathering authors, publishers, editors, and critics to tour local writers’ homes. The program ended with a coffee reception at the local library. The Council for Florida Libraries receives and administers a statewide public awareness grant of Federal Library Services and...

2011 Gale partners with the MLA to help libraries better tell the story of the impact they have on their patrons’ lives and successes. Gale develops a detailed guide to help libraries solicit, create, and present these impactful stories of patron success. The stories that emerged convince some legislators that libraries have a huge impact on communities, and...

  1980 ALA gives Fred an award for providing 15 years of bus service to conference attendees.

Fred Ruffner invites the Friends groups from 10 major cities in Florida to participate in what would be called the Florida Book & Author Festival, which resulted in 20 programs in 13 cities that year. In 1983, the Festival had 50 authors participating in as many programs throughout the state in 25 cities. 1979  

      1978 Fred Ruffner attends the Florida Governor’s Conference on Libraries, providing the same bus service as Gale does for ALA. He was appointed to the Governor’s conference planning committee in January, when he decided a citizen’s committee for libraries should be formed. Fred forms the Council for Florida Libraries,...

In response to an unfavorable television report on Detroit, Fred Ruffner held a ‘We LOVE Detroit” rally in the Gale offices and handed out t-shirts to all who joined either the Friends of Belle Isle or the Friends of the Detroit Public Library. 1975  

   1965 Gale attends its first annual American Library Association conference, which was held in Detroit. Mary Ruffner, wife of Fred, observed that “it’s a pretty good hike from these hotels to Cobo Hall.” And it was Mary who said it would be a good idea to get some transportation for the librarians. The tradition of Gale-sponsored busses at ALA begins. ...

A high school librarian writes from a small town in Tennessee to report that her library has been broken into and vandals have poured liquid wax on some books and spray-painted others; her complete set of Contemporary Authors—which took four years to buy—is now bright red and she wants to know if the set can be rebound. It cannot, but Gale ships an entire new set of the resource...

1954 Fred Ruffner, a young marketing executive in Detroit, realizes there is no current directory listing of trade show associations. After quitting his job, Ruffner publishes the National Directory of Rack Jobbers and begins research for the Encyclopedia of Associations. Gale Research Company was born and under Ruffner’s leadership, Gale’s commitment to advocacy begins. ...