
Promoting the appreciation, enjoyment, and preservation of our library heritage
Friday, July 31, 2009
H. Parmelee Library Company

Sunday, July 26, 2009
Melvil Dewey's Library Notes

Wednesday, July 22, 2009
I Love My Library's History

Monday, July 20, 2009
Little Lyrics for Librarians


The Cleveland Public Library has a rich heritage which is recounted in the book Open Shelves and Open Minds by C. H. Cramer (Case Western Reserve University Press, 1972). It also has an excellent collection of images that reflect the history of the library. I couldn't find any mention of Smyth on the library's website so I'm grateful to Norman for helping to preserve his memory and his contribution to librariana.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Gaylord's Charging Machine



"Should we start a Society for the Preservation of Gaylord Charge Machines? At the very least, I'm thinking we should create a website--scan a picture or two and provide narrative and explanations so that future generations could relate to early librarianship. Actually, we'd also need a sound file, for those times when the machine gets stuck on a card and goes "AHHHHHHHRRRRRRRGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRAAAAHHHHHHGGGRRR" so loudly that everyone in the library jumps. (Then, because there is no other way to reboot these things other than unplugging them, someone leaps at the cord... and someone else leaps at the person leaping at the cord, since our computer now shares that power strip... it's quite a scene.) (Can you *make* a charge machine make that sound, on demand?)"
Here are some links to pictures of Gaylord Charging Machines:
An article about Charging Machines by Helen T. Greer can be found here.
A post on Library Charging Machines on the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center blog can be found here.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Art and Architecture in Illinois Libraries




Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Charles Francis Gosnell, New York Librarian

Today is the 100th anniversary of the birth of Charles Francis Gosnell ( 1909-1993). Gosnell was Librarian of the Queen College Library (1937-1945), Director of the New York State Library (1945-1962), and Director of the New York University Libraries (1962-1974). Gosnell is one of 77 individuals included in the Second Supplement of the Dictionary of American Library Biography (Libraries Unlimited, 2003) which was edited by library historian Donald G. Davis, Jr.. The Dictionary of American Library Biography and its supplements are the most comprehensive and authoritative compilations of information about individuals who have made the most significant contributions to the development of America's libraries. The entry about Gosnell was written by Christopher J. Prom. As State Librarian of New York, Gosnell's major achievement was the development of the regional library system in New York. At the New York University Libraries, Gosnell oversaw the construction of the Elmer Homes Bobst Library building. This building replaced the library building designed by Stanford White which is shown on the postage stamp above. Gosnell served as President of the New York Library Association in 1969. His presidency of the NYLA was marked by a controversy over a decision to hold the 1969 conference in Lake Placid. After his retirement in 1974, Gosnell played a major role in the creation of the Chancellor Robert R. Livingston Masonic Library in Manhattan. Click here for the New York Times obituary for Gosnell.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Free Public Libraries 160 Years

Sunday, July 5, 2009
Countdown to ALA Chicago

Next weekend (July 11-12) I will be in Chicago for the Annual Conference of the American Library Association. I'm looking forward to the conference with great anticipation. This will be the 34th annual conference that I have attended in my 40 years of continuous membership in ALA. My first conference was the 1969 conference in Atlantic City, NJ. This will also be the 9th annual conference I have attended in Chicago. I am especially pleased to be able to attend this conference since it will mark the 100th anniversary of ALA's headquarters being located in the City of Chicago. The most momentous annual conference that I attended in Chicago was the Centennial Conference in 1976.
This year I am looking forward to the activities of the Library History Round Table. Of special interest is the "New Perspectives in American Library History" program that will take place on July 12 at 1:30 p.m. in McCormick Place West Room W-192b. It will feature several outstanding library historians. There will be a library history exhibit "Art and Architecture in Illinois Libraries" in the McCormick West Convention Hall. The exact location of the exhibit is not finalized. It may be on Level One near the transportation center or on Level Three by the Auditorium. Kudos to Allen Lanham of Eastern Illinois University and others who developed this traveling exhibit. While in Chicago I plan to visit the Chicago Cultural Center, former Central Library of the Chicago Public Library, to view the recently restored dome of the building which features Tiffany glass. I would like to make it to the Newberry Library on this trip to see their Rudolph's Continuous Indexer. Tours of the Library are scheduled on Saturday's at 10:30 a.m. Of course, I plan to visit the most extensive library vendor exhibits in the world, and the social highlight will be the big Scholarship Bash at the Chicago Art Institute on Saturday evening. And most of all, I'm hoping to see old friends who have traveled part of this 40 year ALA journey with me.
Thursday, July 2, 2009
Oberlin's Card Catalog

After AL Direct mentioned the web page on The Library History Buff website dealing with Harvard's catalogue cards, I was contacted by Ed Vermue, Special Collections and Preservation Librarian for the Oberlin College Library. Vermue has put together a very nice web page on the history of Oberlin's early card catalog. Kudos to Vermue for his efforts in preserving some of the early catalog cards and catalog card cases used by the Oberlin College Library. Unfortunately not enough librarians value the artifacts of our library heritage. It is refreshing to find one who does.
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