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Women in Early Libraries:

A Look Nationwide and in Iowa

Allison Wild

IS_LT 9419 American Library History

April 22, 2018

1Women in Early Libraries: A Look Nationwide and In Iowa

Women in Early Libraries: A Look Nationwide and In Iowa

In the time between the end of the American Civil War and the beginning of World War

I, the public’s idea of what a library was and the purpose that the library served was beginning to

change. The advancement in printing technologies had made books more affordable, circulating

libraries provided reading opportunities to paying members and the first library tax laws were

starting to come into effect for school district libraries. The culmination of these themes helped

to form the concept of a free public library, as they took ideas from circulating libraries such as

self-improvement through reading, the inclusion of fiction and tax support from school libraries.

This coalescence marks the early beginnings of the public library movement.

In 1875, the public library landscape began to grow. While most of the public libraries at

the time developed on the East Coast, the Midwest was not far behind with 99 public libraries.1

As with most early American libraries, libraries in the Midwest usually belonged to universities

and private clubs. Women often only had access to books through their husbands’ or fathers

connections. Because of this, Midwestern women’s associations often started libraries for

themselves and after a period of success felt like they owed something to the larger community.

Clubwomen were taken with the idea of the importance of books in improving the quality of life

in people. They worked together to raise money, incite public support and solicit philanthropy

for public libraries when the need arose.2 In Iowa specifically, the Iowa Federation of Women’s

Clubs together with the Iowa Library Commission and the Iowa Library Association would bring

to Iowa a twenty-five-year period of growth and innovation during which Iowa libraries and

librarians would flourish.3 The Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs’ main objectives were to

raise the standard of intellectual culture, encourage the progress of education in Iowa, and supply 1 Valentine, “Our Community, Our Library”, 53 2 Valentine, 543 Daniel Goldstein, “The Spirit of an Age: Iowa Public Libraries and Professional Librarians as Solutions to Society’s Problems, 1890-1940.” Libraries & Culture, no.3 (2003): 216.


special service and help to local communities. To serve these objectives the Federation made

libraries a central feature of this territory.4

The purpose of this article is to provide a universal overview of the woman librarian and

the effect that women’s clubs had on the formation of public libraries in its early stages of

development nationwide. It will then focus specifically on public library work in Iowa and how

the various women’s clubs impacted the daily workings of the libraries, while focusing on two

notable women from Iowa’s history.

The Woman Librarian: Victorian Values

In Dee Garrison’s article The Tender Technicians: The Feminization of Public

Librarianship, 1876-1905, she discusses in detail the start of the woman librarian and the impact

women had on the profession. In 1852, the first woman was hired at the Boston Public Library.

This was part of the start of a social revolution where the views and attitudes toward women,

their opportunities and their place in society was changing. In the years between 1876 and 1905,

an important cause to the feminization of librarianship was the rapid growth in the size and

number of libraries.5 By 1878, twenty-six years after the first woman was hired, two-thirds of the

library workers were female and in 1910, over seventy five percent of library workers in the

United States were women. At this time, only teaching surpassed librarianship as the most

feminized profession.6

The advancement of education for women and the increase of women looking for jobs in

the workforce combined with the large demand for trained librarians saw many women finding

employment within the public libraries. At the end of the nineteenth century, librarianship was a 4 Goldstein, “The Spirit of an Age”, 218.5 Dee Garrison, “The Tender Technicians: The Feminization of Public Librarianship, 1876-1905.” Journal of Academic Librarianship 3, no.1 (1977): 10.6 Garrison, The Tender Technicians, 10.


new and quickly growing field that needed a large number of low-paid but educated employees.

Women and men agreed that work within a library matched the presumed feminine limitations of

the time as librarianship appeared similar to the work of the home, functioned as a cultural

activity, did not require a tremendous amount of physical strength and brought women into little

contact with the less favorable members of society.7

Because the opportunities for educated women to find paid employment were limited,

librarianship brought a large number of competent women into low-paid library jobs. Women

were notoriously low paid as economic reasons were often cited and women were often seen to

be hindered by their ‘delicate physique’ and ‘inability to endure continued mental strain’.8 Melvil

Dewey believed that the genteel nature of library work would offset the fact that women were

generally paid half as much as men librarians and also often received less than teachers did.9 As

each job within the library was filled by a woman, theories were developed by both men and

women to explain why the mind of a female and feminine personality were innately suited to the

occupation. The position of librarian required a certain ‘gracious hospitality’ and it was assumed

that women would not be embarrassed by serving others. Women were thought to make good

librarians because of their interpersonal and sensitive strengths and for their tact.10 Women were

often given the tedious job of cataloging as their ‘greater conscientiousness, patience and

accuracy in details’ gave them a greater ability to perform the most monotonous tasks without

boredom.11

7 Garrison, 10.8 Garrison, 14.9 Garrison, 14.10 Amanda Forrest, “Women in Librarianship and Library Education: A Brief History”, Colorado Libraries 31, no. 1 (2004): 7.11 Garrison, The Tender Technicians, 12.


Because women at this time did not have a lot of opportunities for employment, they

accepted the position of the underpaid and unappreciated librarian.12 Garrison argues that this

feminized the profession in a negative way and hindered the public from viewing the position of

a librarian as a true and respectable profession. She writes that “a woman-dominated profession

was obviously a contradiction in terms”. 13 In her article, Garrison states that to achieve

professionalization a field must display: service orientation, knowledge base and a degree of

autonomy. Garrison argues that the vast majority of women in librarianship inhibited the field

from displaying those traits. The average women in the nineteenth and early twentieth century

accepted the idea that her success in life was judged by her marriage and not by her work.

Because of this thought, women often left their employment after marrying and this practice led

to complaints of high employee turnover and low commitment of excellence to their field.

Garrison implies that this perception was related to the place that women held in society and thus

hurt the field from displaying the service orientation needed for the public to view librarianship

as a true profession. Garrison also argues that the feminization of librarianship hindered

professionalization because a woman of that time most likely lacked scholarly ambition or

preparation, had no commitment towards a life-long vocation and her own personality led her to

not only accept but expect low autonomy, subordination to clerical tasks and little chance for

administrative control.14

The Woman Librarian: A Professional

12 Garrison, 14. 13 Garrison, 14.14 Garrison, 15.


While Garrison fully supports the idea that the feminization of librarianship did much to

both shape and stunt the development of the field, not all are in agreeance. In Suzanne

Hildenbrand’s article Library Feminism and Library Women’s History: Activism and

Scholarship, Equity and Culture, she argues that while it is the conventional idea that women are

to blame for the problems facing the profession, it was not possible to determine whether the low

salaries were responsible for the presence of the large quantity of women workers or whether the

women were responsible for the low salaries and the inequity in pay. Hildenbrand stresses how

little research has been done on the history of the first employment for women and that the case

against women is weak. She also stressed the gaps in literature regarding women of color in early

librarianship.15 According to Hildenbrand, the literature details the positive aspects and values

shared by women librarians. Women viewed themselves as collaborative and nurturing and they

thought those as superior traits to be had instead of hindranes. She also states that because

women often display leadership without the need for a title, it is different than male displays of

leadership as it often goes unrecognized. They relied more on personal influence not bureaucratic

authority.16

Suzanne Stauffer, in her article The Intelligent, Thoughtful Personality: Librarianship as

a Process of Identity Formation, argues that instead of a profession of passiveness it was a

profession in which women ‘embraced empowerment’ and depended on elevating women to

positions of equality and responsibility through the process of mentoring rather the promotion of

competition. She goes on to describe how women librarians were proud of their ability to accept

those who identified themselves as a librarian. They used training so as to not exclude potential

employees but to improve the quality of their work. They did not view others who had an interest

15 Suzanne Hildenbrand. “Library Feminism and Library Women’s History: Activism and Scholarship, Equity and Culture.” Libraries and Culture 35, no. 1 (2000): 5416 Hildenbrand. “Library Feminism,” 59.


in the profession but a lack of training as a hindrance. They were seeking others who had an

interest in the work, a willingness to serve and could demonstrate the ability to do the work.17

According to Stauffer, female librarians derived authority and a sense of duty and responsibility

from their professional identities. They expanded their responsibilities to include the selection

and weeding of materials, instituting new programs and services to help meet the needs of their

communities, and they lobbied for increased funds and expansion of services. They saw their

professional identity as being that of a public advocate.18

Kate McDowell’s article entitled Surveying the Field: The Research Model of Women in

Librarianship, 1882-1898, demonstrates one of the ways women impacted the field. The

scholarship regarding librarianship prior to 1882 had been largely based on individual

experience, until Caroline Hewins and other female librarians created a series of qualitative

survey-based reports that would change the research model of the field moving forward.19

Though women of the time saw themselves as well suited and capable of understanding social

problems, women in public roles were not able to express themselves as equal to men. Because

of this, the survey method was used as a means to gather the opinions of others to try and bolster

their findings in light of their lesser status as a woman. They wanted to ensure that their reports

were heard and not discounted on the basis of their gender. By pioneering this method in the

field of librarianship, Hewins provided her female colleagues with the opportunity to express

their voice and make arguments about the library practice.20 From 1887-1897, women gave forty-

17 Suzanne Stauffer, “The Intelligent, Thoughtful Personality: Librarianship as a Process of Identity Formation.” Library and Information History 30, no. 4 (2014): 260.18 Stauffer, 260. 19 Kate McDowell. “Surveying the Field: The Research Model of Women in Librarianship, 1882-1898.” Library Quarterly 79, no. 3 (2009): 279.20 McDowell, “Surveying the Field,” 287.


five papers at ALA conferences establishing their growing recognition as professionals in the

field.21

Women’s Clubs and their Impact

After the Civil War, women created associations for themselves to gather throughout the

United States. These organizations were formed with the aspiration of moral reform and the

pursuance of ‘self-culture’.22 Amongst the literature available on women’s clubs and their impact

of the society around them is the common theme of establishing libraries. In the article,

Founding Mothers: The Contribution of Women’s Organizations to Public Library Development

in the United States, Paula Watson details the significant contributions women’s clubs added to

the development of the public library throughout the country. Jolie Valentine in her article Our

Community, Our Library: Women, Schools and Popular Culture in the Public Library Movement

and Daniel Goldstein in The Spirit of an Age: Iowa Public Libraries and Professional Librarians

as Solutions to Society’s Problems echo similar details regarding their additions to the public

library movement. Members of women’s clubs were often taken with the notion of the

importance of books in improving the quality of life of those in their own communities and those

living in rural or deprived conditions. They started, initially, with small collections of books for

the use of their members.23 Before long, they realized that they could send these libraries to

remote areas where access to reading material was difficult to obtain. They started traveling

libraries and soon realized the importance of the establishment of a library within their own

community. By 1904, it was asserted that women’s clubs had established 474 free public

libraries, by 1914 that had rose to fifty percent of the libraries established, and by 1933 the 21 McDowell, 290.22 Paula Watson, “Founding Mothers: The Contribution of Women’s Organizations to Public Library Development in the United States.” The Library Quarterly: Information, Community, Policy, no. 3 (1994): 233.23 Valentine, “Our Community, Our Library,” 55.


American Library Association gave credit to women’s clubs for seventy five percent of the

libraries in existence.24 In Arizona, women’s clubs established 37 libraries; in Idaho, they

established 15 traveling libraries; in Arkansas they were responsible for 28 libraries; and in New

York, they helped to establish the first public library. The reach and influence of women’s clubs

to the public library movement could be felt nationwide.25 In Illinois, women’s clubs maintained

300 traveling libraries and prior to 1904, women’s clubs in 34 states were responsible for 4,655

traveling libraries with a total of 340,961 volumes between them.26 In Iowa, the Iowa Library

Association was struggling to survive until it partnered with the Iowa Federation of Women’s

Clubs where they created a committee dedicated to public libraries within the state.27

Women’s clubs weren’t only responsible for the idea of creating a library, they were also

largely in charge of initially funding it, lobbying for legislation, acquiring books and other

reading materials and acting as initial librarians within the building. Women’s clubs in many

communities even made the case for Carnegie grants including presenting the case in person to

Andrew Carnegie himself.28 In a large number of states, federations of women’s clubs are given

credit for lobbying and obtaining passage of legislation supporting appropriations of funds for

traveling libraries or library commissions. Women’s clubs also encouraged small libraries to

convert from subscription libraries to free public libraries, helped to raise the standard of school

library books and cooperated with the state libraries to prepare reading lists.29 Women’s clubs

and federations that had worked for the founding of state library commissions felt a continuing

responsibility for them and in turn, became the strongest allies for the commissions.

Commissioners in numerous states acknowledged that the commission owed its existence to the 24 Watson, “Founding Mothers,” 235.25 Valentine, 54.26 Watson, 242.27 Goldstein, “The Spirit of an Age”, 218.28 Watson, 236. 29 Watson, 241.


women’s clubs and turned to them for help in establishing an effective system.30 Women were

also involved in the education of new librarians. By 1910, 10 library schools existed, 8 of which

were directed or founded by women. These library schools helped to establish a network of

professional connections between graduates, students and instructors.31

While literature stresses the importance of women’s groups to the establishment of public

libraries other historians provide minimal record of their contributions. Older texts only mention

briefly the role of women’s groups. In Sydney Ditzion’s Arsenals of a Democratic Culture, he

rejects the notion that the contribution of women’s clubs held any importance and in George

Bobinski’s Carnegie Libraries, he doesn’t contribute women’s clubs as having an effect on

establishing Carnegie grants for many communities.32

Iowa Libraries

In 1870, Iowa became one of the first states to pass legislation authorizing tax support for

free public libraries and in 1890, it became the second state to form a library association. 33

However, despite enabling legislation twenty years prior, in 1890 there were still only ten tax-

supported public libraries. Iowa is traditionally and, in that time, was still largely a state of rural

communities and the idea that people only needed a few books prevailed in those rural districts.34

This would begin to change when the first Carnegie grant for a public library was awarded in

1892 and as Iowa began to take pride in its high literacy rankings and desire to be known for

more than their agricultural skills. In 1900, Iowa legislature created the Iowa Library

30 Watson, 235. 31 Valentine, 57. 32 Watson, 237.33 Shana Stuart, “My Duty and My Pleasure: Alice S. Tyler’s Reluctant Oversight of Carnegie Library Philanthropy in Iowa.” Information & Culture 48, no. 1 (2013): 92.34 Goldstein, “The Spirit of an Age”, 216.


Commission, the third library commission in the Midwest.35 The Iowa Library Commission,

together with the Iowa Library Association and the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs began to

lobby in support of pro-library legislation, work to convince communities to establish public

libraries, provide guidance to library boards and librarians in order to improve service, and

helped to meet the educational and professional needs of librarians throughout the state.36

These three organizations, responsible for bringing Iowa libraries into the golden age,

were the state’s first source of expert knowledge of the purpose and organization of libraries.

They would continue to gather statistics on state libraries, lobby for improved legislation and

offer conferences to those in the profession to address technical and philosophical issues in

librarianship. In addition to creating new public libraries, these groups also worked hard to

improve and modernize existing libraries.37

Besides concern for the physical libraries themselves, the library commission concerned

themselves with improving the skills and qualities of the librarians working there. Often the

librarians in Iowa were appointed based on their political connections or their spouses rather than

their knowledge of books or skills related to library work. Because of this, they established a

training program for working librarians. Unlike other professions of the time, librarians saw an

opportunity to train existing librarians rather than simply replace them. By improving the quality

of both the library and the librarian, the Iowa Library Commission wanted public libraries to

stand and be a part of the educational force in the community.38

Women’s Clubs of Iowa

35 Shana Stuart, “My Duty and My Pleasure”, 92.36 Goldstein, 216.37 Goldstein, 219.38 Goldstein, “The Spirit of an Age”, 221.


The Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs had a significant impact on Iowa public libraries.

In addition to helping to create new libraries, they also were involved in the daily workings of

the libraries. They often acted as the librarian, served on the library commission, helped furnish

the buildings and helped establish traveling libraries throughout the state. Alice Tyler, Iowa

Library Commission secretary, emphasized the importance of the Federation as a factor in the

educational movement of the libraries.

One of the largest accomplishments the Women’s Clubs had a part in was the creation of

the Iowa Library Commission. In November 1899, a meeting was held consisting of library

enthusiasts, men and women, from all over the state who were devoted to the cause of library

extension. Those in attendance included: library experts, experienced librarians, representatives

from the multiple women’s clubs, and members of different library organizations including the

Iowa Library Association. In detail they were “more than representative citizens, they are of the

most highly cultured and progressive class and are making great efforts in a cause which they

believe is for the good of the whole people”39 The purpose was to plan a campaign for the

establishment of a state library commission. Those in attendance believed that a commission was

necessary as new laws that were established to help create free public libraries, were not

generally known and understood by the public. An example being, with the aid of Iowa

Women’s clubs, a law was passed establishing a traveling library system, but its purpose was not

understood by the public. The library enthusiasts and the women’s clubs felt as though an agency

was needed to help put the laws into layman’s terms, disseminate the information to the various

public libraries established, help provide direction of library work in Iowa communities, and to

instill interest in free public libraries in areas where interest was lacking.40

39 “A Library Commission”, Evening Times-Republican, November 5, 1899.40 “A Library Commission”, Evening Times-Republican


The Iowa Federations of Women’s Clubs is given credit in helping to establish the library

commission as earlier in the year, during their biennial meeting, they called to attention the need

for a commission. They realized that the public library movement was sweeping through Iowa

and was already powerful, but it was disorganized. The clubs worked to get the Library

Association on board with the idea and “since the women are ‘for’ it the legislature can hardly

afford to neglect to answer their demands’41

Later in 1900, the legislature passed, and the library commission was created. The

various newspapers that supported the idea and that “nearly every woman in the state of Iowa

seemed to be writing letters about it” was given credit for its creation.42 The Commission hired

Alice Tyler as its secretary and in her first reports she wrote that she had been in constant

demand to address women’s clubs, library clubs and citizens’ meetings throughout the state in

the interest of the public library movement which, in turn, inspired the establishment of many

public libraries. Tyler continued to say there were two main lines of work for the commission

that were coming to light; the agitation of interest prior to the establishment of a public library

and organization and improvement of libraries already in existence. The commission was

deemed a success and the belief was had that there was no movement that could bring so much to

the comfort of living in Iowa as the growth of the public library. 43

An example of women working together to establish a public library is in Council Bluffs,

Iowa. The first library in Council Bluffs was a subscription library, where members paid an

annual subscription fee to use the library and also a nominal fee to check out material. Despite

the formation of the Council Bluffs Library Association, progress towards a free public library

was slow. Women were elected to replace the male members of the association, notably Ruth

41 “A Library Commission”, Evening Times-Republican42 “Good Work Being Done” Evening Times-Republican, November 21, 1901. 43 “Good Work Being Done” Evening Times-Republican


Anne Dodge and Susanne Lockwood Dodge. The two women hosted socials at their homes,

created a series of entertainments to be given by the ladies of the city and made the library the

sole object of their winter meetings. The women also put an ad in the paper asking the city of

Council Bluffs for a two-dollar donation to help “secure a little reading and do much to help an

undertaking which must not be allowed to die”44 With the help of donations and the events put

together by the women of Council Bluffs, the Free Public Library was opened on April 24, 1882.

It was the first free public library in the state of Iowa.45

In addition to working to create and assist libraries and commissions, the women’s clubs

of Iowa were also highly active in improving the organization and appearance of current libraries

of that time. They would work together to improve the property, including planting flower beds

and establishing outdoor maintenance. The women’s clubs also frequently would help to furnish

a newly created library by purchasing furniture. In Marshalltown, Iowa, six different women’s

clubs worked to furnish the newly established Carnegie library. The 20th Century club used

subscriptions to raise $450 into furnishing the lecture room. The Hawthorne club helped to

furnish the children’s room by giving $350 toward furniture, pictures and games. The Women’s

Club, the largest organization in the city, furnished the equipment and furniture for the

newspaper room. The Beethoven club gave funds to purchase a table for the study room. The

Entre Nous club, purchased tables for the reading and reference rooms by charging its member

$10 and Mrs. Conover, a clubwoman, furnished the museum and the art room as a memorial to

her father. Carnegie funds were to be used on the structure of the library alone, so the monetary

assistance given by the women’s clubs was necessary and commendable. Without the funds

44 Danette Hein-Snider, “Ruth Anne Dodge, Susanna Lockwood Dodge lef effort to open 1st free public library in Iowa.” The Daily Nonpareil, April 9, 2018.45 “Ruth Anne Dodge” The Daily Nonpareil


donated by the different clubs, the items purchased would have needed to come from the tax

fund which would have halted the purchase of books by the library.46

Often alongside the public library and the school board, the federations of women’s clubs

would work with the city’s youth to help turn them into responsible adults. An example of this

line of work is out of Marshalltown, Iowa where the women’s club, the school board and the

public library created a Junior Civic League that was organized for the purpose of improving

homes throughout the city as well as ensuring that streets and alleys are kept looking nicely. The

librarian, who was also a clubwoman, provided the materials and gathered literature on different

methods of plant cultivation and home improvement. 47

As well as establishing and furnishing a library, clubwomen were often the librarians of

the buildings they helped to start. They would hold meetings to discuss important topics such as

universal reading, ensuring that they turn the reading habits of the public in ‘the right direction’,

what books to purchase and how the library should seek to develop and enrich the lives of each

person in its community.48 They also spoke at local conferences and association meetings which

included topics on organizing or reorganizing a library; classifying, arranging and labeling

books; repairing books; what can be done for the children of the library and how to maintain

traveling libraries. 49

Notable Women in Iowa History

Women of Iowa played a significant role in the creation, maintenance and progression in

the public libraries to help shape them to what they are today. Of these many individuals, there

46 “Work of the Women’s Clubs of the City in Equipping the Library Departments.” Evening Times-Republican, December 15, 1902. 47 “Organizing Children for Civic League.” Evening Times-Republican, April 12, 1911. 48 “Prominent Iowans Connected with Library Work Discuss its Different Phases” Evening Times-Republican, August 18, 190549 “Library Association Meeting.” Evening Times-Republican, November 5, 1900.


are many notable, but two of these that will always hold a spot in history are Alice S. Tyler and

Ada E. North.

Alice’s work in the library begins in 1895 when she became the first library school

graduate on staff at the Cleveland Public Library where she headed the catalog division. Even

early in her career, Tyler was improving libraries in any way that she could. At Cleveland, she

introduced the Dewey decimal system and the use if the typewriter. In 1900, Tyler became the

first Secretary of the Iowa Library Commission. During her tenure at the Secretary she was given

the charge to promote the establishment and efficiency of free public libraries. Under Tyler’s

leadership, public libraries in Iowa grew and prospered. Tyler oversaw the education of

librarians, the expansion of the traveling library system to reach the more rural parts of Iowa,

increased the traveling book collection from less than 100 books to more than 700 and increased

the number of libraries in Iowa from 41 to 113. During Alice Tyler’s tenure as Secretary, 84

libraries were built using Carnegie grants. Carnegie’s funding made library buildings a tangible

item for many Iowa communities that would have not been able to afford one otherwise. 50

As secretary, she would visit towns throughout the state teaching them how to organize

their libraries, how to catalog books using the Dewey decimal system, how to create card

catalogs and often she would visit the local women’s clubs and give them the direction needed to

get establishing a local library on the ballot in their towns. She would also visit local library

boards to give advice or provide training to help better the whole library from its staff to its

contents. At the end of 1913, when Alice left her position as Secretary, Iowa was an example of

library work in the country.51

50 Shana Stuart, “My Duty and My Pleasure”, 9151 Goldstein, “The Spirit of an Age”, 219


In September 1871, Ada North was given the position of State Librarian. She would be

the first woman to hold a state office position in Iowa and the United States, as well as, the first

woman to head a State Library. After 8 years in this position, North would become the first full-

time librarian for the University of Iowa for the next 13 years. During her 21 year career, she

helped shape the profession of librarianship in Iowa. North instituted several improvements in

the libraries she oversaw. She produced the State Library’s first printed catalog, she introduced

the card catalog to the University of Iowa library, reclassified the university library to the Dewey

decimal system, and extended the time the library was open to nine hours a day instead of five.52

In 1890, North was one of five library leaders to call a meeting of librarians and herself,

along with 16 others, created the Iowa Library Association. The Association would join forces

with the Iowa Federation of Women’s Clubs and the Iowa library Commission to establish state

legislature and improve the quality of libraries in Iowa. North was also a leading advocate of

training and working conditions for librarians. In 1891, she described the poor working

conditions of public librarians and reprimanded their employers and in 1892, she encouraged the

Iowa Library Association to set up a training program for working librarians. As a result of her

efforts, in 1901 a six-week training course was offered at the University of Iowa. 53

Conclusion

Without the tireless work of women and women’s clubs throughout the nation, the history

and landscape of the public library would look much differently. The efforts of women such as

Alice Tyler and Ada North helped catapult Iowa into a ‘golden age’ of library creation and work

and established the state as a leading icon in library legislation. Today as we use our public

52 Christine Pawley. “North, Ada E.” The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa Press. (2009). 53 Goldstein, “The Spirit of an Age”, 222.


libraries freely, let us be reminded of how we got there and how we can affect and improve their

status today.


References

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Forrest, Amanda. “Women in Librarianship and Library Education: A Brief History.” Colorado

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Garrison, Dee. “The Tender Technicians: The Feminization of Public Librarianship, 1876-1905.”

Journal of Academic Librarianship 3, no.1 (1977): 10-18

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Solutions to Society’s Problems, 1890-1940.” Libraries & Culture, no. 3 (2003): 214-235

“Good Work Being Done.” Evening Times-Republican, November 21, 1901. From the Library of


http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85049554/1901-11-21/ed-1/seq-4/

Hidenbrand, Suzanne. “Library Feminism and Library Women’s History: Activism and

Scholarship, Equity and Culture.” Libraries and Culture 35, no. 1 (2000): 51

Hein-Snider, Danette, “Ruth Anne Dodge, Susanna Lockwood Dodge led effort to open 1st free

public library in Iowa.” The Daily Nonpareil, April 9, 2018.

“Improving Library Property.” Evening Times-Republican, June 14, 1904. From the Library of




“Library Association Meeting.” Evening Times-Republican, November 5, 1900. From the

Library of Congress website Chronicling America: Historica American Newspapers,


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1898.” Library Quarterly 79, no. 3 (2009): 279-300.

“Organizing Children for Civic League.” Evening Times-Republican, April 12, 1911. From the

Library of Congress website Chronicling America: Historical American Newspapers,


Pawley, Christine. “North, Ada E.” The Biographical Dictionary of Iowa. University of Iowa

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“Prominent Iowans Connected with Library Work Discuss its Different Phases.” Evening Times-

Republican, August 18, 1905. From the Library of Congress Website Chronicling

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Stauffer, Suzanne. “The Intelligent, Thoughtful Personality: Librarianship as a Process of

Identity Formation.” Library and Information History 30, no. 4 (2014): 254-272.

Stuart, Shana. “My Duty and My Pleasure: Alice S. Tyler’s Reluctant Oversight of Carnegie

Library Philanthropy in Iowa.” Information & Culture 48, no. 1 (2013): 91-111

Valentine, Jolie. “Our Community, Our Library: Women, Schools, and Popular Culture in the

Public Library Movement.” Public Library Quarterly 24, no. 4 (2005): 45-79

Watson, Paula. “Founding Mothers: The Contribution of Women’s Organizations to Public

Library Development in the United States.” The Library Quarterly: Information,

Community, Policy, no. 3 (1994): 233-269


“Work of the Women’s Clubs of the City in Equipping the Library Departments.” December 15,

1902. From the Library of Congress website Chronicling America: Historical American

Newspapers, https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn85049554/1902-12-15/ed-1/seq7

lhrtnews.files.wordpress.com€¦ · web viewdaniel goldstein, “the spirit of an age: iowa public...

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