91´«Ã½

Message from the Chair

The vernal equinox is past, the spring flowers are slowly emerging, the robins have returned, and here in Champaign, this library historian's fancy lightly turns to thoughts of Toronto in June. The upcoming 2003 91´«Ã½ Annual Conference in Toronto will be a historic occasion for both the organization and for LHRT as a jointly held conference of both the 91´«Ã½ and the Ca-nadian Library Association. This is only the second joint 91´«Ã½-CLA conference, and long overdue; the first joint 91´«Ã½-CLA conference was held in Montreal in 1960. Fittingly, our conference program, "U.S. and Canadian Library History: The Same But Different," scheduled from 1:30 - 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, June 22nd, is also jointly sponsored by 91´«Ã½'s LHRT and CLA's Library History Interest Group.

"U.S. and Canadian Library History: The Same but Different," is in the "Literature, Cultural Heritage, and Public Programming" program track and will provide a comprehensive look at the long and varied interrelationship between American and Canadian libraries and librarianship over time.

The program will begin with "Canadian and American Library History: Two Historiographical Traditions," a talk by Peter McNally that will consider how Canadian library history is both similar to and different from that of the United States. A prominent aspect of the Canadian scene is the unique French language tradition of libraries and library history, and Professor McNally will explore the delicate relationship of American and Canadian Anglophone and Francophone traditions.

The next presentation will be given by Elizabeth Hanson on "Mary Solace Saxe, Canadian Public Libraries, and American Librarianship, 1901-1931." Professor Hanson will focus on Mary Solace Saxe, Librarian of the Westmount (PQ) Public Library, who was involved in most of the major events in the development of Canadian public libraries as well being closely associated with U.S. library development during the first third of the twentieth century.

Elaine Boone will follow with a presentation entitled "Cross Border Influences Upon Education for Librarianship: The Toronto Experience." Dr. Boone will focus on the fluid US- Canadian border, major players and educational theories that informed the successful hybrid of Canadian and American formats that culminated in the creation in 1936 of the Bachelor of Library Science at the University of Toronto.

Toni Samek will conclude the program with a talk entitled "National Intelligence and Well Being: 1944 and the Canadian Library Number." 91´«Ã½, which first met in Canada in 1900, played a major role in the formation of the Canadian Library Council in 1943. This paper will focus on the years 1944-1946, during which both American and Canadian bricks were used to construct the foundation for a Canadian-American library frontier, and will examine factors such as globalization and the southern influence that shaped a powerful library alliance that continues to this day.

Our session will provide members with an opportunity to gain an overview of and an appreciation for the long and rich collaboration that has characterized the historical relationship between U.S. and Canadian libraries, librarians, and librarianship. I look forward to seeing you at what promises to be a thought-ful and informative program.

Finally, I would like to thank the LHRT members who have agreed to run for office on the 2003 ballot. They include Jean Preer (Indiana University School of Library and Information Science-Indianapolis), Holly Willett (Rowan University), Ken Potts (California State University, Stanislaus), Rick Rubin (Kent State), Debra Hansen (San Jose State), Cindy Mediavilla (UCLA), and Marek Sroka (U of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). I encourage all LHRT members to cast their votes before April 25, 2003.

I look forward to seeing all of you in Toronto!

Christine Jenkins

Minutes
Library History Round Table
Executive Committee
Philadelphia Mariott Courtyard
January 26, 2003 (91´«Ã½ Mid-Winter)
Attendance: Kat Bork, Don Davis, P. Toby Graham, David M. Hovde, Christine Jenkins, Plummer Alston "Al" Jones, Melanie Kimball, Joy Kingsolver, Joyce Latham, Mary Jo Lynch, Mary Niles Maack, Christine Pawley, Jean Preer, Charley Seavey, Lee Shiflett, Steven Sowards, Fred Stielow, Andrew Werthheimer, Wayne Wiegand, Holley Willett.

I. Welcome & Introductions and agenda
II. Approval of Minutes
(91´«Ã½ Annual, June 16, 2002): Distributed in LHRT Newsletter prior to meeting. Approved by consensus.
III. Old Business
A. 2003 Midwinter Reception - DALB 2nd Supplement & Don Davis
Christine Jenkins reported on this event held by Libraries Unlimited in honor of the publication of the new supplement to the Dictionary of American Library Biography. LHRT took the opportunity to present Don Davis with a certificate in recognition of his 25 years of service as editor of Libraries & Culture. LHRT Executive Committee approved the tribute at the June meeting. The text of the certificate, by Mark Tucker, is as follows: "With sincere appreciation to Donald G. Davis, Jr., a model of judicious and diligent scholarship, for service to the 91´«Ã½ Library History Round Table through editorship of Libraries & Culture for the past quarter century."

B. LHRT Homepage
Joy Kingsolver reported that the LHRT site has moved, but that there is a redirect page. However, the 91´«Ã½ site, as a whole, is being redesigned and transferred to a content management system. Implications: 1) LHRT will not have its own neat, simple url; 2) there won't be a redirect page from the old site to the new; 3) the site will lose functionality, particularly the ability to narrow searches to the LHRT pages to find information in the bibliographies, officers list, and minutes. Kat Bork related that LHRT may request to have the same url as old page. J. Kingsolver will check into this, but was given the impression by 91´«Ã½ IT personnel that retaining the existing url is not an option. Fred Stielow and Charley Seavey expressed their concern and disapproval in regard to the change, and Charley Seavey offered to host the LHRT site outside of the 91´«Ã½ servers. LHRT also took up the topic of making certain areas of the 91´«Ã½ Web site open to members only, which is an option with the new content management system. Joy Kingsolver and Mary Niles Maack expressed their concerns that making parts of the LHRT site private would reduce visibility of the organization and would exclude a significant user group of students and others who use the bibliographies but are not associated with LHRT. Mary Jo Lynch related that the intention of the redesign was the opposite, to make the 91´«Ã½ site more accessible for visitors to the site who are not internal to 91´«Ã½. She related that 91´«Ã½ has paid a third party to make the migration to the content management system, and perhaps they would be responsive if many round tables were dissatisfied. Christine Jenkins formed an ad hoc subcommittee (Christine Jenkins, Joy Kingsolver, and Charley Seavy) to consider the matter and report at the annual conference.

C. LHRT Conference Programs
C. Jenkins The 2002 Annual Conference LHRT program addressed archives and 9-11. There will be two programs at 2003 Annual Conference: 1) 91´«Ã½-CLA Joint Program in which LHRT and CLA Library History SIG will cosponsor a session on connections among Canadian and American librarians. Toni Samek and Elizabeth Hansen will speak in addition to two others to be selected by Peter McNally of CLA (Sunday, June 22, 1:30-3:30). 2) LHRT Research Forum (Sunday, June 22, 10:30-12:00).

Mary Niles Maack reported on LHRT Research Forum, a goal of which is to provide an opportu-nity for young scholars to present papers along with more experienced scholars. The title of the 2003 program is "Library Women in the 20th Century: From the First to the Second Feminist Movement." Melanie Kimball (recent Illinois PhD graduate) will speak on the role of women in children's librarianship with a focus on St. Louis public libraries. Cindy Mediavilla will speak on women librarians in the middle of the century fo-cusing on state librarians in California and Washington. Kathleen McCook will speak on library women in the second feminist movement, which she took part in. She is the editor of Status of Women in Librarianship and other books. M.N. Maack will submit a notice for the LHRT Newsletter and to M.J. Lynch for the conference program.

IV. New Business
A. Treasurer's Report
Mary Jo Lynch prepared a Treasurer's Report, which was distributed. The report indicates that LHRT has a fund balance of $7327. Toby Graham reported (from information provided by M.J. Lynch) that no dues are listed on lines 4001 (Organizational Dues) and 4003 (Life Dues) as a result of a problem in the 91´«Ã½ reporting system that has affected all round tables. The money for these categories is included on line 4000 (Per-sonal Dues). There is a problem on line 5306 for FY 01/02, which indicates that $500 was budgeted for the Winsor award, but (in the next col-umn) that no money was awarded. In fact, LHRT did give a Winsor prize. To make the $500 prize, $274 came from the Winsor endowment and $226 from the LHRT operating budget. The $226 does not show up on the report, because it was erroneously charged to LRRT. Mary Jo Lynch is working on resolving this. As of 11/30/02, the Winsor endowment held $8911. The LHRT Lectureship fund has been formally established. It was started at $10K, but as of 11/30/02, it had lost about $500 in the market. The $10K figure was achieved by combining the royalties of Wayne Wiegand's book Irrepressible Reformer, the proceeds of two LHRT auctions, and $739 form the operating budget. According to the terms of the gift, LHRT may not use the endowment until it raises a $7500 match. The last LHRT newsletter provides information on how individuals may make monetary gifts to LHRT.
Charlie Seavey inquired whether the endowment funds must invest in the stock market rather than a fixed income account. Mary Jo Lynch responded that all endowment monies become part of the 91´«Ã½ endowment, so there is no flexi-bility on that point. LHRT discussed whether it should add another $2K to the lectureship fund toward the required match. Ultimately, it was decided to leave the money in the LHRT operating budget where it is protected from the decline in the stock market, and that LHRT should revisit the issue at the June meeting.

B. Announcements
Christine Jenkins distributed an announcement of Library History Seminar XI to be held Oct. 27-29, 2005 at the Allerton Park Conference Center of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The theme will be "Libraries in Times of Revolu-tion and Social Transformation." A call for abstracts will go out in the fall of 2004.
Mary Jo Lynch distributed a membership report titled "91´«Ã½ Statistics Monthly Report" for Dec. 2002. Overall membership is up, though student membership has declined.
Charlie Seavey reported that Library Research Seminar III will be in Kansas City, MO in 2004. He will begin to distribute information on this event after 91´«Ã½ mid-winter and indicated that he would like to see history-related proposals submitted.
Wayne Wiegand reported that he and John Bertot are the new co-editors of Library Quarterly. The journal will continue to publish research of general interest to the library profession, a substantial fraction of which will be library history. He also reported that Libraries Unlimited will publish in spring 2003 the proceedings from the conference on youth and print culture. The volume is co-edited by Anne Lundin and Wayne Wiegand. Royalties are to be donated to Center for Print Culture and History in Modern America. W. Wiegand communicated that the Center has begun publication of a monograph series. Series titles include a reprint of Purity in Print by Paul Boyer; Libraries as Agencies of Culture, a reprint of an issue of American Studies edited by W. Wiegand and Tom Boggs;and a reprint of Apostles of Culture by Dee Garrison with new introduction by Christine Pawley. Apostles is the most cited library history work, and W. Wiegand suggests that it would generate productive discussion where used in the classroom. It will appear in spring 2004. Royalties for each book in the series will support the Center.

Joy Kingsolver and Al Jones reported on the 91´«Ã½ Financial Seminar offered during the mid-winter conference. Other round tables have difficulty getting timely budget reports. The attendees offered applause to Mary Jo Lynch for her work in attending to LHRT finances.

C. Auction Committee
Andrew Werthheimer reported that the committee has decided that it is not practical to have auction at the 2003 annual conference, because of complications with conducting the event internationally. The committee would like to hold the auction at Library History Seminar in 2005. The committee asks LHRT members to be aware of opportunities to obtain books to donate for the auction and reminds them that book donations are tax deductible. Send books to Mark Tucker at Purdue.

D. Nominating Committee
Steve Sowards reported that the deadline for nominations was two 2 weeks ago. He reported the following slate of candidates: Chair elect: Holly Willet (Rowan) and Jean Preer (Indiana University School of Library and Information Science--Indianapolis); Secretary/Treasurer-Elect: Richard Rubin (Kent State) and Ken Potts (California State University, Stanislaus); Members at Large: Cindy Mediavilla (UCLA), Debra Hansen (San Jose State), and Marek Sroka (Univ. of Illi-nois at Urbana-Champaign).
Andrew Werthheimer made the following motion: "Candidates for the position of chair-elect of the 91´«Ã½-LHRT are encouraged to submit a 50-100 word personal statement to the nominations committee that will appear on the ballot. Candidates are encouraged to use this to write their goals and objectives as chair." S. Sowards seconded, and the motion passed.

E. Publications Committee
No report.

F. Justin Winsor Committee
Toby Graham reported that the call for submis-sions has been publicized electronically on key listservs and in emails to schools of library and information studies. The call for submissions also appears on the 91´«Ã½ site. Entries are due by Jan. 31. The committee hopes to have a winner sometime in April and begin to publicize in May. The prize will be awarded officially at the annual conference.

G. Phyllis Dain Committee
Christine Jenkins reported that 2003 is a Dain year, and the committee still is in the process of gathering submissions.

H. Research Committee
Jean Preer submitted a report to LHRT proposing changes to the charge and composition of the Research Committee. She suggests that the chairs of the selection committees for the Glea-son, Dain, and Winsor awards serve on the Research Committee and work together on publicity for all of LHRT's awards to make them more visible and more sought after. She suggests that the chair-elect of LHRT serve as the chair of the Research Committee and the bibliographer serve as an ex-officio member who, though not involved in selection, monitor literature associated with library history. Mary Niles Maack sug-gested that the chair-elect (as chair of the Research Committee) could be responsible for the Research Forum program, thus LHRT would provide a mechanism for making this an annual event. Christine Jenkins, Jean Preer, and Mary Jo Lynch will put together a proposal to be considered at the annual conference.

Jean Preer also reported on the Gleason award, which never has been awarded. She posed two questions in regard to the book prize: 1) Did Gleason endorse or have any input in regard to the criteria for the award? She was alive until last November. 2) Should the award be more narrowly focused? The current description is that the Gleason award is for the best book written in English on library history. It also provides biographical information on Gleason and stresses her interest in African-American library history. If there is no focus, then it may be hard to make an objective selection as to the "best" book. If Glea-son had provided input, would she have pre-ferred to focus on American library history or African-American library history? J. Preer related that book publishers are submitting titles that are too far afield. Mary Niles Maack, Holley Willett, and Charley Seavey made statements in favor of retaining a broad approach. Wayne Wiegand related that the language in the award description is his. He provided the award criteria and then added the biographical information on Gleason to meet 91´«Ã½ requirements for establishing the award. He suggested that the committee examine and set aside those books that clearly do not qualify. J. Preer suggested requiring that individuals nominate books for the award, and that as a part of the nomination provide a paragraph on the contribution that the work makes to the literature. This would help committee members who may not be experts in all fields and would eliminate blanket submissions by publishers.

I. Other
Mary Niles Maack reported that the California Library Association's Library History Round Table has digitized and made available on its Web site Hannah J. Kunkle's Bibliography of the History of Libraries in California. See:
. She would like to know whether other states have library history round tables that are active.
Don Davis reported on the Chronology of Texas Library History and Bibliography of Texas Library History that have been published and print and that, eventually, will be online. He suggested that there are opportunities to organize this type of in-formation for other states or regions, and welcomes their use of the Texas project as a model.
Joy Kingsolver related that she would link to these efforts from the LHRT site.
Mary Niles Maack reported that the California Library Association is producing a California library calendar and postcards in cooperation with the California Center for the Book.
Christine Jenkins reported that Elizabeth Hansen will prepare an exhibit for the annual conference in Toronto on the 1900 91´«Ã½ conference, the first to be held in Canada. She requests co-sponsorship by LHRT, including financial support of up to $500. The exhibit will feature photo-graphs and artifacts. The location has not been set, but it probably will be at a library near to the conference events. The McGill Library and CLA Library History SIG are sponsors. Holley Willett moved that LHRT provide $200 for the project; Melanie Kimball seconded; the measure passed.
Fred Stielow inquired whether there is a way to honor Web exhibits that reach more people. He also asked that LHRT write a statement to con-gratulate LC for having Centers for the Book in all 50 states.
Don Davis reported that IFLA will meet in Berlin this year and in Buenos Aires next year. Very few members of the American establishment attend unless on the program, and he encourages the membership to attend.
Don Davis thanked LHRT for award and for be-ing at the reception. He will write in thanks to Li-braries Unlimited and asked LHRT to do the same. Christine Jenkins agreed.
Wayne Wiegand related that he and Pam Richards conceptualized a world library history text book. She took on the project, focusing on the 20th Century with the intention that the work could be used in courses. Then she became ill. Some authors already had agreed to write articles. Wayne Wiegand will take over the project. There will be a meeting at IFLA in Berlin to craft a table of contents. The text book should be completed in 2 years, and the royalties will go to the Richards scholarship fund at Rutgers. The textbook will not be Western focused, but more global in perspective.

Adjourn 10:35

Reported by P. Toby Graham,
Secretary/Treasurer

Announcements

The University of Iowa Center for the Book has revised its web site and packed in much new in-formation. A few pages remain under construction, but we invite your attention to
.

The Center offers a graduate certificate in book arts or book studies but also coordinates a wide range of courses that can be incorporated in both undergraduate and graduate programs in many schools (including Art and Art History, Journalism and Mass Communication, and Library and Information Science) and departments (including English, History, Religion, American Studies, the Writer's Workshop, and many others). The Iowa program offers unique strength in that it brings together a long tradition of fine and hand press printing, hand papermaking, bookbinding, calligraphy, and other arts and technologies of the book; an exceptional, diverse faculty with interest in book studies; splendid production and study facilities; outstanding library resources; and a larger community supportive of the book arts.

Note that there are now instructions, under "Book and Paper Store", for ordering Iowa handmade papers and book kits, including the Ethiopian bookbinding kit in three sizes.
Christine Pawley

The Library History Award
The Library History Award is an annual award for the best essay on library history published in, or pertaining to, the British Isles. It is organized by the Library History Group of the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals. The Award aims to improve the quality and increase the quantity of writ-ing on library history in the British Isles. It is sponsored by Emerald.
A Cash prize of 200 pounds will be offered. Deadline for nominations for the essay, which should have been published in 2002, is June 30, 2003. Enquiries should be sent to John Crawford at jcr@gcal.ac.uk
Library History essay award for 2001 was given for "Angry sentinels and businesslike women: identity and marital status in 1950s English career novels", Library History 17 (July 2001): 83-90. The article was co-authored by Evelyn Kerslake and Janine Liladhar, who share the award, which is sponsored by Emerald and is worth £200.

The LHRT Research Forum in Toronto
Sunday, June 22, 10:30 AM - 12:00 PM.

This year LHRT has decided to reinstitute its Research Forum and work toward making this program on an annual event to showcase the current research of library historians. During the past decade LHRT Research Forum panels have covered diverse topics including:"The Public Library Inquiry"(1992); Women's Work: Vision and Change in Librarianship (1993); "The History of African-American Librarianship" (1994); "Women of Influence: Implications of Feminist Leadership Research for Library Historians" (1996); "Reading for Moral Progress" (1997); "Bringing Libraries to the People" (two panels, 1999); and "Public Libraries as Public Spaces: Histories of Buildings and Their Uses" (2001).

When our first "annual" Research Forum was launched at the 1992 91´«Ã½ conference in San Francisco, our stated goal was "to invite both young researchers and established scholars to present papers on a range of issues, including methodology, historical interpretation and oral history." We are continuing this tradition with the 2003 Forum which will not only include recent research on "Library Women in the 20th Century" but will also feature remarks and recollections of Kathleen de la Peña McCook, a scholar, educator and activist who won the 1987 91´«Ã½ Equality Award in recognition of her feminist work. Since last year marked the 25th anniversary of the Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship, it seemed especially appropriate that we begin to reflect on our recent history as well as looking back on the contributions that women have made since the beginning of the last century. We hope that the discussion following these presentations will allow us to consider ways to begin collecting, documenting and archiving the experiences of those activists who created the Social Respon-sibilities Round Table Feminist Task Force and COSWL.

Mary Niles Maack, Professor
UCLA Department of Information Studies

At the turn of the last century, when gender role expectations and prejudices limited their life choices, many talented women saw librarianship as a career that would enable them to play a role in the progressive reform movement reshaping American society. In a 1910 vocational guide for women an American library educator Josephine Rathbone wrote that the public librarianship offered "scope for the exercise of all a woman's powers, executive ability, knowledge of books, social sympathies, knowledge of human nature." Although women librarians' chances for advancement to directorships were limited, dynamic women leaders worked with progressive male colleagues to establish an empowerment tradition in librarianship that was in many ways similar an "ethic of care" described by later feminist writers such as Carol Gilligan. This presentation argues that while few librarians were actively involved in feminist political movements prior to the 1970s, many engaged in "feminist practice," imbuing librarianship with values that emphasized nurturing, empowerment, and outreach.

Intellectual and Spiritual Aunts: Children's Librarians in the Early 20th Century St. Louis

Melanie A. Kimball, Assistant Professor
Dept. of Library and Information Studies
SUNY at Buffalo

Youth services have been described as "the success story" of public libraries in the United States, however, library service to children was not part of the original mission of libraries. In the late nineteenth century, library administrators began to see the advantages of providing such services. The work of children's librarians grew as a network of women established programs in libraries, training schools for children's librarians, and outreach to the public schools. The establishment and growth of the children's department at the St. Louis Public Library in the early twentieth century provides an example of how women shaped the work of children's librarians and created a vital specialization within the library profession.

Imbued with the Spirit of Cooperation: Western Women as Library Leaders in the mid 20th Century

Cindy Mediavilla, Adjunct Professor,
UCLA, Dept of Information Studies

Passionate champions of the notion of "larger units of service," three former California county librarians carried their vision northward to establish cooperative library systems in Washing-ton state in the 1940s and '50s. All three would eventually become Washington State Librarian (WSL), together helping to create one of the most progressive state library programs of the mid-20th century. This paper utilizes the primary documents of Gretchen Knief Schenk (WSL 1942-1945), as well as oral history interviews with Carma Zimmerman Leigh (WSL 1945-1951) and Maryan Reynolds (WSL1951-1975)

The Power and Might Index Upended--Recollections of a Woman Library Worker

Kathleen de la Peña McCook,
Distinguished University Professor
University of South Florida,
Library & Information Science

The status of women in librarianship has changed dramatically since gender statistics began to be systematically collected in the library field. This presentation will draw on vivid personal recollections as well as comparing statistics from the Women Library Worker Power & Might Index with information on the number of women holding powerful positions in American libraries in the late 20th century.

Submitted by Mary Niles Maack

Call for Papers
Call for papers for Spring 2004 issue of Library Trends on the theme:
Pioneers in Library and Information Science
This issue of Library Trends is devoted to papers that critically examine the work of individuals who have been important historically in the development of library and information science. Papers for Library Trends are usually not more than 10,000 words in length, though shorter papers are of course acceptable.
Those who wish to contribute to this issue of Library Trends should email an abstract to the issue editor, W Boyd Rayward at wray-ward@uiuc.edu
Date Due for Papers: November 30, 2003; Publication Date: Spring 2004

Other News

Below is the text of the plaque and commendation LHRT gave Don Davis at the Midwinter Meeting:

Remarks for Dictionary of American Biography, 2nd Supplement Reception
Friday, 24 January 2003, 8:30-10:00 p.m.

With sincere appreciation to Donald G. Davis, Jr. for service to the Library History Round Ta-ble of the 91´«Ã½ through editorship of Libraries & Culture: A Journal of Library History and its predecessor, The Journal of Library History, Philosophy & Comparative Librarianship.

From his first issue-Volume 12, Number 1, 1977-and continuing for more than twenty-five years, Don raised the standard for scholarly communication in the library, book-related, and historical professions.

Don quickly met and exceeded the initial goals of the quarterly's first eleven years:
To provide "a means of communication between historians, librarians, and the academic community at large."
To give librarians the "historical and philosophical grounding and continuity to
move forward intelligently."

He advanced the journal far beyond these initial concepts, enhancing its reputation and expanding its readership. He envisioned Libraries & Culture as:
"interdisciplinary," exploring the "significance of collections of recorded knowledge--their creation, organization, preservation, and utilization--in the context of cultural and social history, unlimited as to time and space."

Under Don's leadership, book review sections and special issues became rich with international perspective. Library history seminar proceedings became excellent examples of cross-disciplinary and cross-cultural research, and Don became a model of judicious and diligent scholarship. He deserves the abiding respect of a grateful Round Table.

Library History Round Table
91´«Ã½
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
24 January 2003

LHRT Spring 2003 Bibliography

06/2003