{"id":4287,"date":"2016-12-19T15:56:05","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T15:56:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/archives.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/?p=4287"},"modified":"2016-12-19T15:56:05","modified_gmt":"2016-12-19T15:56:05","slug":"the-gift-of-literacy-lutie-e-stearns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/2016\/12\/19\/the-gift-of-literacy-lutie-e-stearns\/","title":{"rendered":"The Gift of Literacy: Lutie E. Stearns"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the middle of all of the holiday cheer, December is also a month for librarians across the country to think back on those who gave back to their communities.\u00a0 The late Lutie Eugenia Stearns, born on September 13, 1866, influenced many within the field of librarianship.\u00a0 With the holiday season upon us, who better to write about than a woman who selflessly dedicated her life to advocate for those whose voices went unheard?<\/p>\n

Lutie Stearns began her career as a teacher in the Milwaukee Public Schools.\u00a0 With her apt skills in book collecting, she soon caught the eye of the Milwaukee Public Library\u2019s, Minnie M. Oakley.\u00a0 After Minnie\u2019s death in 1895, Stearns was then appointed head Librarian.<\/p>\n

Due to her love and passion for books, she also helped found the Wisconsin Free Library Commission.\u00a0 Stearns believed in free books and service for all, so she began her own traveling library.\u00a0 As a self-declared radical, Stearns once stated, \u201cI\u2019ve been called \u2018a radical\u2019 and a \u2018communist but I recall that Susan B. Anthony was termed \u2018an old hen\u2019 and Jane Addams was designated . . . as \u2018the most dangerous person in America\u2019 so I\u2019m in good company.\u201d[1]<\/a>\u00a0 She traveled around the state of Wisconsin and soon became not only an advocate for free libraries, but also for women and children.\u00a0 Her belief was that everyone should be able to have access to books no matter the age or gender of the patron.<\/p>\n

During the 1894 Lake Placid American Library Association meeting, in a room of over 200 people, Ms. Stearns presented in front of the American Library Association on why children under the age of 12 should be allowed to check out books from libraries.<\/p>\n

\"letter\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(\u201cIn Conclusion Concerning the Child\u201d statement on the value of teaching children found in record series 97\/1\/31)[2]<\/a><\/p>\n

Despite her well known speech impediment, Stearns was undeterred and her speech was successful.[3]<\/a>\u00a0 Her passion for advocating for children\u2019s literacy didn\u2019t stop there.\u00a0 She published her 1894 Annual Conference Report on Reading for the Young in December of 1894 as well as her \u201cIn Conclusion Concerning the Child\u201d within the American Library Association.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n

\"survey\"<\/a><\/p>\n

(Survey questions that formed the basis for her 1894 Annual Conference Report on Reading for the Young that was published in Library Journal, December 1894. Found in record series 97\/1\/1)[5]<\/a><\/p>\n

Because her well known activism and changes in the world of libraries, Lutie Stearns was inducted into the ALA Hall of Fame in 1951 and was among one of the first people to be honored in the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame in 2008.\u00a0 Although, Ms. Stearns can be remembered as a great librarian and teacher, she has left more than just that in her legacy.\u00a0 Ms. Stearns is a perfect example of how important the gift of giving and the gift of literacy that all librarians have to offer can truly be, especially during this holiday season.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

[1]<\/a> Pawley, Christine. “Advocate for Access: Lutie Stearns and the Traveling Libraries of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission, 1895-1914.”\u00a0Libraries & Culture<\/em>\u00a035, no. 3 (2000): 434-58. http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/25548840.<\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> Lutie E. Stearns Papers, 1894, Personal Members Papers. Record Series 97\/1\/1, Box 1. American Library Association Archives, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a> Stuart Stotts, “Lutie Stearns, Patron Saint of Libraries | Big Valley Press,” Big Valley Press, accessed December 13, 2016, http:\/\/bigvalleypress.com\/lutie-stearns-patron-saint-of-libraries\/.<\/p>\n

[4]<\/a> Lutie E. Stearns Papers, 1894, Personal Members Papers. Record Series 97\/1\/1, Box 1. American Library Association Archives, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.<\/p>\n

[5]<\/a> Ibid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the middle of all of the holiday cheer, December is also a month for librarians across the country to think back on those who gave back to their communities.\u00a0 The late Lutie Eugenia Stearns, born on September 13, 1866, influenced many within the field of librarianship.\u00a0 With the holiday season upon us, who better […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":711,"featured_media":4289,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[75,129,152,212],"class_list":["post-4287","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-librarian-spotlight","tag-childrens-librarians","tag-librarians","tag-lutie-e-stearns","tag-women-librarians"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4287","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/711"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4287"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4287\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4289"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4287"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4287"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wordpress.library.illinois.edu\/ala\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4287"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}