Vintage READ Posters Auctioned as American Library Association Turns 150

Heritage Auctions is selling over 200 posters from the American Library Association's READ campaign in an online auction running from June 18 to July 10, 2026, commemorating the ALA's 150th anniversary. The campaign, launched over 40 years ago, features celebrities and fictional characters posing with their favorite books under the word "READ." Notable participants include Paul Newman, Spike Lee, Shaquille O'Neal, Oprah Winfrey, Elvis Presley, David Bowie, Yo-Yo Ma, and the Muppets. Casts from "Glee" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" also appear. ALA president Sam Helmick highlighted the campaign's role in promoting literacy across generations. The ALA was founded in 1876 at the first Convention of Librarians in Philadelphia by 103 librarians. The organization exhibited at the 1893 World's Fair, publishes Booklist magazine, established the Newbery Medal, and tracks book bans. The READ campaign inspired university spin-offs. An exhibition at Poster House in New York, "Reading Under Fire: Arming Minds & Hearts During Wartime," explores earlier literacy posters. During World War I, the ALA supplied millions of books to troops. A high-bid poster shows Paul Newman reading Star Warriors on a pool table. Heritage Auctions' Charles Epting called the posters cultural touchstones that made reading exciting.