A WESS CHRONOLOGY:*
| 1959 | ALA-ACRL Subject Specialists Section formed |
| 1973 | WELS(Western European Language Specialists) Discussion Group |
| 1974 | WELS Newsletter began |
| 1978 | Petition to Form Section |
| 1979 | WELS becomes WESS (Western European Specialists Section).WELS Newsletter becomes WESS Newsletter |
| 1980 | First WESS ALA Conference Program; "The Government
Documents of Western Europe"
Membership in WESS totals 400. Research and Publications Committee formed. Planning Committee formed. Agenda includes projects on Western European holdings in North America, collection surveys. |
| 1981 | Conference Program;"The Library of Congress and the future of Western European Collections" Language and Literature discussion group formed. Social Sciences discussion group formed |
| 1982 | Conference Program: "Resources of German-speaking Europe: Publishing Patterns and Bibliographic Strategies for the ‘80’s" |
| 1983 | Conference Program:"France and Francophone Canada-Publishing Trends, Selection Tools, and Library Collections Today" |
| 1984 | Classical, Medieval and Renaissance Discussion Group formed |
| 1985 | Conference Program: "Western European Women’s Studies" Proceedings published as: Women’s Studies in Western Europe: a Resource Guide |
| 1986 | Conference Program: "Research Trends and Library Resources for Western Europe: Assumptions and Realities" |
| 1986 | First Nijhoff Grant awarded |
| 1987 | Conference Program: "New Directions in Old World Research: Western European Studies from Classical Antiquity to the Renaissance: Implications for Libraries |
| 1987 | Germanists Discussion Group formed |
| 1988 | Florence Conference: "Euro-librarianship, shared resources, shared responsibilities". Proceedings published. |
| 1988 | Conference Program: "Strangers in New Worlds: Migration Studies in Europe and America" |
| 1989 | Conference Program: "Austria, Switzerland, and the Two Germanies: Collection Building and Bibliographic Control" |
| 1989 | "Significant European Scholarly Titles"; a project of the College and Medium-Sized Libraries Discussion Group. |
| 1990 | Publication of: Western European Studies: Current Research Trends and Library Resources . Selections from WESS Conference Programs from 1987-1988. "Significant European Scholarly Titles" appears for the first time as an annual section in Choice |
| 1990 | Conference Program: "Translation: the Craft, Politics and Access"Membership in WESS totals more than 700. |
| 1990 | Romance Languages Discussion Group formed |
| 1991 | Scandinavian Discussion Group formed |
| 1991 | Conference Program: "European Unification 1992: Impact on Information and Libraries" |
| 1992 | Conference Program: "Cinema Paradiso: Movies, Libraries, and European Culture" |
| 1993 | Conference Program: "Europe East and West: New Resources for North American Libraries" |
| 1994 | Conference Program: "Emerging European Writing: Visions and Voices of the New Europe" |
| 1995 | Conference Program:"European Connections: Electronic Resources for Western Europe" |
| 1995 | WESSWeb begun |
| 1996 | Conference Program: "The Changing Face of European Studies" |
| 1997 | Special Topics Discussion Group formed |
| 1997 | Pre-Conference: "European Links: Sources of Information in Western European Studies for Academic Libraries" |
| 1998 | Social Sciences and History Discussion Group formed |
| 1999 | Touzot Award established |
| 1999 | Western European Specialists Section becomes Western European Studies Section |
From: WESTERN EUROPEAN LIBRARIANSHIP IN THE UNITED STATES: LOOKING FORWARD AFTER TWENTY YEARS. A presentation at the Assocation of College and Research Libraries/Western European Specialists Section (WESS), American Library Assocation Annual Meeting, New Orleans, Louisiana, June 28, 1999
Barbara L. Walden, European History Librarian, University of Wisconsin-Madison. 728 State Street, Madison, Wisconsin 53706