Mary Wright Plummer

To continue our blog series highlighting pioneering women librarians, this next post will focus on Mary Wright Plummer (1856-1916).  A member of Melvil Dewey’s first class in librarianship at Columbia College, Plummer went on to establish an impressive career in librarian education, children’s librarianship, and international librarianship, and served as the ALA’s 2nd female president from 1915-1916.

Born to a Quaker family, Plummer attended Wellesley College from 1881-1882, studying languages and creative writing.  Her librarianship career began when she enrolled at the age of 30 in “the first class in library science on the planet”[1], Melvil Dewey’s 1887 class in the School of Library Economy at Columbia College.  Distinguishing herself immediately in her studies, she was selected to present her experience in library school at the American Library Association’s 1887 meeting (“The Columbia College School of Library Economy from a Student’s Standpoint,” printed in Library Journal, September-December 1887). Continue reading “Mary Wright Plummer”

Announcing Digitized Chinese-American Librarian Association Newsletters!

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The American Library Association Archives is pleased to announce the digitization of the Chinese American Librarians Association newsletters and conference programs!

Within the newsletters (1982-2000) are messages from the President; chapter, committee, and individual member announcements; administrative updates; essays on Chinese and East-Asian librarianship; narratives of CALA events; obituaries and tributes; conference itineraries; job and scholarship postings; and publication announcements and reviews.

The CALA newsletters, membership directories, and conference programs are found at the ALA Archives in Record Series 85/4/30

These digitized documents can be found here.

Chinese-American Librarians Association website

American Library in Paris

As described by Director Dorothy Reeder, the American Library in Paris was a “war baby, born out of that vast number of books sent to the A. E. F. by the American Library Association in the last war.  When hostilities ceased, it embarked on a new mission, and has served as a memorial to the American soldiers for whom it has been established.”[1] Continue reading “American Library in Paris”