Archive for January, 2010

Dewey’s New York Library Club

January 21st, 2010
The New York Library Club is another of those enterprises that owes its existence to Melvil Dewey. It was founded in New York City in June 1885 as the result of a letter circulated by Dewey which invited fellow librarians in Manhattan and Brooklyn to a meeting to consider "the desirability and practicability of an informal club of New York librarians". The early years of the club are well documented by library historian Tom Glynn in his article "The Professionalization of a Calling: Mission and Method at the New York Library Club, 1885-1901" in the Fall 2006 issue of Libraries & The Cultural Record. At the time of the formation of the club, Dewey was the Librarian of the Columbia College Library. The postal card above is an interesting item. It is an announcement of a meeting of the New York Library Club on January 15, 1903 which includes the program for the meeting and additional information. Two of the most prominent librarians of that period are to give reports at the meeting, Josephine Rathbone and Arthur E. Bostwick. The announcement includes the information that the new Bibliothecal Museum at Columbia Library will be open before and after the meeting. The concept of a bibliothecal museum was another Dewey idea which was developed early in the history of the American Library Association. The museum was somewhat like a permanent exhibit of the kinds of items that are now part of commercial exhibits at ALA conferences. It was intended to include "a collection of everything bearing on libraries". The idea was that you could visit the museum to see examples of supplies and products being used by libraries. The postal card used for the announcement is a government issued, pre-stamped card which is the same size as a catalog card. Getting the United States Post Office Department to issue a postal card of this size was still another Dewey idea.

American Library in Paris

January 20th, 2010

The American Library in Paris is the largest English language lending library on the European continent. It is part of the legacy of the Library War Service of the American Library Association in World War I. It was founded in 1920 making this year its 90th anniversary. There is a good history of the library on its website. Part of that history is illustrated by the envelope/cover shown above. It was mailed on march 29, 1940 to Dorothy M. Reeder, director of the library 1936-1941. The envelope was mailed only a short time before the German occupation of France which began in May,1940. As recounted in the website history of the library, Reeder and her staff provided heroic service after the German occupation by operating an underground book lending service for Jewish members of the library who were barred from libraries by the Germans. One staff member of the library was actually shot by the Gestapo in a surprise inspection of the library. Mary Niles Maack has written an excellent article about the American Library in Paris during the period 1939-1945 which contains more information about Reeder's service at the library. The American Library Association Archives includes correspondence from ALA's Executive Secretary Carl Milam relating to the American Library in Paris including letters to Reeder. The envelope above was mailed by air mail via transatlantic clipper and was franked with two 30 cent airmail stamps which were needed for a double weight letter. It was mailed from the United States Chapters Center of the American Library in Paris in New York.

Remembering Fauno Cordes

January 19th, 2010

The Donohue Rare Book Room and the Gleeson Library lost a good friend with the recent passing of Fauno Cordes on Christmas day. Fauno was a book collector, bibliographer, Rare Book Room benefactor and member of the Gleeson Library Associates. She presented to the Rare Book Room her world-renown collection of Antarctic fiction and continued to make gifts to the collection over the years. At the 1995 Winter Meeting of the Gleeson Library Associates held in conjunction with a Library exhibition of her collection, Fauno spoke on “The Lure of Antarctic Fiction.”

Fauno was a native San Franciscan who spent her career in the field of science, retiring as a nuclear medicine technologist from Mt. Zion Hospital. Her interests were diverse and included astronomy, model rocketry, geography and of course, books—to which her dedication and interest brought her to the Gleeson Library and to the University of California, San Francisco where she was a faithful volunteer in their medical library. I admired Fauno very much and will miss her visits to the Rare Book Room. I will always remember her as stopping for quick visits (frequently on her way to the Farmer’s Market) to make gifts to the collection. It was always a joy to see what treasure she would unwrap from within her tote bag. She was a kind, generous and purpose-driven person. The Donohue Rare Book Room and the Gleeson Library are blessed to have counted her as a friend.

John Hawk
Head Librarian, Donohue Rare Book Room

Carnegie B & B Update

January 19th, 2010


And then there was one. In a previous blog post I reported on former Carnegie library buildings that have been repurposed as bed and breakfasts. The Old Library Inn Bed & Breakfast in Sterling, Colorado closed its doors in December of last year and is now in the process of being sold as a private residence. That leaves the Carnegie Hall Bed & Breakfast in Ladysmith, Wisconsin as the only remaining Carnegie library bed and breakfast of which I am aware. However, the Old Library Restaurant part of the Old Library Inn Bed & Breakfast in Olean, New York is housed in a restored Carnegie library building. Both provide an opportunity to experience a former Carnegie library building in a unique manner. This would be a great way to celebrate Carnegie's 175th birthday.

Gleeson Library Fine Payments to be Donated to the People of Haiti

January 15th, 2010

To the people of Haiti, we say clearly, and with conviction, you will not be forsaken; you will not be forgotten. In this, your hour of greatest need, America stands with you. The world stands with you. We know that you are a strong and resilient people. You have endured a history of slavery and struggle, of natural disaster and recovery. And through it all, your spirit has been unbroken and your faith has been unwavering. So today, you must know that help is arriving — much, much more help is on the way.

– President Barack Obama, January 2010

If you pay a library fine online or in person through Friday, February 12th, Gleeson Library will donate 100% of your payment to the people of Haiti (via Jesuit Refugee Service:  http://www.jrsusa.org/).

If you don’t have  library fines to pay, but would still like to contribute,  monetary donations for the JRS’s work in Haiti will also be accepted at the Library’s Access Services desk.