March 16 will be the 125th anniversary of the birth of Joseph L. Wheeler (1884-1970). Wheeler is co-author of Practical Administration of Public Libraries (Harper & Row, 1962). This was the basic text I used for my public library administration course in library school at the University of Illinois. Herbert Goldhor, the other co-author, was director of the Library School while I was there. Wheeler worked in several public libraries but most of his career (1926-1945) he was Director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, MD. After retiring from Enoch Pratt, he had an active consulting career and was an authority on public library building projects. He has an entry in the Dictionary of American Library Biography and was a recipient of the Lippincott Award. Wheeler took a leave from his position as Director of the Youngstown Public Library in 1917-1918 to work in ALA's Library War Service where he was in charge of 32 camp libraries. Edwin Castagna included him is his book Three Who Meet the Challenge: Joseph L. Wheeler, Lawrence Clark Powell, Frances Clarke Sayers (Peacock Press, 1965).Happy birthday Joe.
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