Archive for January, 2010
C. C. Certain & School Library Standards
January 26th, 2010
This year is the 125th anniversary of the birth (exact date unknown) of Casper Carl Certain (1885-1940), the father of school library standards. In 1920 (90 years ago), the American Library Association published Standard Library Organization and Equipment for Secondary Schools of Different Sizes. Because C. C. Certain (as he was better known) was chair of the committee that developed the standards they became widely known as the "Certain Standards". The "Certain Standards" were developed by the Committee on Problems of High School Libraries of the National Education Association's Department of Secondary Education. Certain also chaired the joint committee of the National Education Association and the American Library Association that produced the report Elementary School Library Standards published by ALA in 1925. Jean E. Lowrie has written a biography of Certain in the Dictionary of American Library Biography (Libraries Unlimited, 1978). In that article she quotes Certain on the importance of school librarians: "First, only a person with special training can fulfill the many functions described and second, no school can reach its highest efficiency until it provides for the systematic and broad use of reading materials which the presence of a trained librarian insures. That instruction has traditionally been altogether in the hands of classroom teachers ought not to blind boards of education or superintendents to the imperative need in a modern school for a more extensive use of reading materials. If this need is recognized, there will naturally follow the transformation of the study-room into a library and the assignment of the supervision of the library to a trained librarian." The Lowrie biography is also reprinted in Pioneers and Leaders in Library Service to Youth: A Biographical Dictionary edited by Marilyn L. Miller (Libraries Unlimited, 2003) Cawood Cornelius has written an excellent article for the Georgia Library Media Association's blog which provides a timeline for the history of school library standards.
The Good Ship ALA
January 24th, 2010
In recognition of its service in World War I, the American Library Association was invited by the United States Shipbuilding Board (USSB) to name one of the many merchant marine ships built under its auspices. ALA chose the very creative name of "ALA" for its ship. Harry R. Skallerup wrote "The Steamship Named ALA", the definitive article about the ship, in the Fall 2004 issue of Libraries & Culture. The SS ALA was one of forty ships of the same type built at the Merchant Shipbuilding Corporation's Harriman yards in Bristol, Pennsylvannia. It was christened by Shirley Putnam, daughter of Librarian of Congress Herbert Putnam, on December 18, 1920. Putnam wrote an account of the launching of the ALA in an article in Library Journal. The SS ALA went through several owners and name changes over the years with the last name being the "SS Belgian Fighter". On October 9, 1941 the SS Belgian Fighter was torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine 80 miles SSE of Cape Town, South Africa. According to Skallerup a plaque honoring the American Library Association had been fastened to a bulkhead in the saloon of the ship. The remains of the former SS ALA and possibly the plaque rest in a watery grave, as Skallerup concludes his article, "far in distance, time, and memory from the occasion and place of its naming". The photograph above shows the SS ALA when it was operated by the American Diamond Lines in the 1931-35 period (uboat.net).
Reuben’s Library
January 23rd, 2010
Reuben's Library is the Library of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island. Reuben is Reuben A. Guild (1822-1899), Librarian of Brown from 1848 to 1893. A librarian acquaintance who knew of my interest in both library history and philately alerted me yesterday to a philatelic event that will be held at the Brown University Library on February 2, 2010. It will be part of the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Rhode Island Philatelic Society. I recalled that I had a few items in my postal librariana collection relating to the Library and after a brief search I found them. Two of the items were letters from Reuben Guild to Reverend George W. Anderson, who was the editor for at least two of Guild's books. Both of the letters were written in 1885, the year that the Rhode Island Philatelic Society was founded, and one was written on January 23, 125 years ago today. I checked the biography of Guild written by Jonathan S. Tryon in the Dictionary of American Library Biography (Libraries Unlimited, 1978) and was very impressed with what I found. Guild became Librarian at Brown at the age of 26. At the beginning of his tenure he had an assistant but from 1860 to 1877, according to Tryon, he ran the library by himself. During that period he helped plan a new library building which opened in 1878. Guild then developed a new cataloging system and personally cataloged 48,000 volumes between 1878 and his retirement in 1893. On the national scene, Guild was present at the first national meeting of librarians in 1853 and was one of three secretaries, along with Melvil Dewey, at the conference in 1876 where the American Library Association was founded. Tryon's article in the DALB paints a picture of a man of boundless energy who was highly regarded by the students at the University. In short, someone who makes you proud to be a librarian. For information on the philatelic event being held at the Library on February 2, click HERE. More on the history of the Library can be found HERE.
One of 10 to Read in 2010
January 22nd, 2010
I have been remiss in not acknowledging a significant honor which was received by the Library History Buff Blog this month. It has been selected as one of 10 Librarian Blogs to Read in 2010 by LISNews (Librarian and Information Science News). LISNews is one of my major sources of news about what is going on in the library and information science world which makes this honor even more noteworthy for me. I'm especially pleased that a blog that is devoted to promoting library history has been selected for this recognition. It's selection has already generated many visits to the blog by new viewers and readers for which I am grateful. It does, however, place an added burden on me to deliver content in 2010 that is worthy of this recognition. I'll do my best.
Tours of the Library
January 21st, 2010New to USF? Or just curious to learn more about the library? Join us for a tour of the Gleeson Library Geschke Center. A library staff person will show you around the library and tell you about our services.
The tours last about 30 minutes and meet inside the lobby, in front of the fountain across from the Circulation Desk.
No need to sign up. Just come and join us!
The tours meet:
Monday, January 25th at 2pm
Tuesday, January 26th at 11am
Wednesday, January 27th at 10am
Thursday, January 28th at 2pm
Friday, January 29th at 3pm
