Dissertation Information for Lucy Jane Maddox NAME: - Lucy Jane Maddox
DEGREE:
- Ph.D.
DISCIPLINE:
- Library and Information Science
SCHOOL:
- University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (USA) (1958)
ADVISORS: - Rudolph H. Gjelsness
COMMITTEE MEMBERS: - Howard Yale McClusky - Mary Duncan Carter - Russell E. Bidlack
MPACT Status: Fully Complete
Title: Trends and issues in American librarianship as reflected in the papers and proceedings of the American Library Association, 1876-1885.
Abstract: The decade from 1876 to 1885. when Justin Winsor served as . the first and continuing president of the American Library Association, marked the beginning of the modern American library movement. The purpose of this study has been to identify the trends and issues in librarianship which developed during this de~ade. Since the trends and issues in librarians hip did not develop apart from the social, economic, and political conditions of the decade. the first chapter is devoted to the historical background of the period. There follows a detailed review of the conference in 1876 which culminated in the organization of the American Library Association. For background. a brief sketch of t.he library convention of 1853 is given. and the librar-.f leaders of the 1876 conference, six of whom attended the 1853 convention. are introduced in brief biographical sketches. The chapter concludes with an analysis of the results of the 1876 conference. The most widely discussed library topic of the decade was classification and cataloging. Six classification schemes devised during this period are reviewed, and such aspects of classification as notation, mnemonics, shelf arrangement, and the order of classes and subclasses are noted. Other issues concern "movable" or "relative" versus "fixed" location; the cost of cataloging, particularly the cost of printed catalogs; the arrangement of printed catalogs; full versus simplified cataloging; and the subject analySiS of books. The various cooperative ventures which were proposed are studied, including cooperative cataloging, indexing, and standardized library supplies and procedures. The'development of public library service for adults was a major topic. Included were discussions on aids and guides to readers, book selection, reading ta-sies, and the place of fiction in the public library. Of primary interest in the area of library service to children and young people were public library cooperation with the public schools, book selection, and guidance in the reading of children and young people. An issue of speCial interest during the period concerned the planning of more functional and economical library buildings. Receiving less attention, but nonetheless warmly debated, were contemporary opinions concerning the qualifications, duties, and training of librarians. Various other library topics which received a measure of attention were library legislation, the printing and distribution of public documents, care and protection of books, college libraries. special libraries, the preservation of pamphlets, bibliography as a science, and charging systenls. The study concludes with an evaluation of the contributions which the American library pioneers made during the decade. The major contributions were the organization of the American Library Association, the establishment of the Library Journal, the first A.L.A. cataloging code (based on Cutter's Rules for a Dictionary Catalogue), Dewey's Decimal ClaSSification, and Poole'S Index to Periodical Literature. Other. contributions include the establishment of the Library Bureau; the adoption of the Cutter author-numbering system and the standard-size catalog card; Samuel S. Green's pioneer work in library and school cooperation and reference service to readers; the beginning of library service to children and young people pioneered by Caroline M. Hewins and Mrs. Minerva W. Sanders; the groundwork for the A.L.A. Catalog. under the leadership of Dewey; and the foundation for more functional and economical library architecture under the leadership of Justin Winsor and William F. Poole. The general conclusion which is drawn in this study is that. though libraries have enlarged their areas of service, the methods which were established during the first decade of the American Library Association are still widely used. and many of the general pattern's which emerged at that time have formed the basis for library achievements of later years.
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MPACT Scores for Lucy Jane Maddox A = 0
C = 0
A+C = 0
T = 0
G = 0
W = 0
TD = 0
TA = 0
calculated 2008-04-25 16:40:53
Advisors and Advisees Graph
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