Cultural Crusaders: Women Librarians in the American West, 1900-1917

by Joanne E. Passet

"I have found just the work for me, for I love it more all the time." Thus wrote one of several hundred professionally trained women who carried the gospel of books and libraries throughout the West during the early twentieth century. Pioneers in a profession, they regarded the West as a fertile field for their cultural crusade which included establishing traveling libraries in rural areas, participating in community-building activities, and professionalizing existing public and academic libraries and as a place where they could develop as independent women. Passet uses extensive archival material to provide a picture of the women librarians' experiences. She explores their education, family relationships, degree of autonomy, and reactions to the West. Her account is enlivened throughout by the words of the women themselves. It is further enriched by brief biographies of four women exemplifying the combination of personal and professional goals that motivated many women librarians to move west.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Librarianship, Feminism

208 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 1994

Reviews

[dawnlovesbooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

great history of the women's role in the formation of the library. Thoroughly researched and included lots of arhival documents, including letters by the women themselves.

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved it! Passet explores the role of women librarians in creating the West and continuing the legacy of public American libraries. These are some rough and tumble ladies who had to work against unimaginable odds to establish libraries where none existed and with almost no budget to speak of.

A typical job description: A young woman who is not only a college graduate with library school training and experience ... must be able to get along with Western people, ride and drive, as well as pack a horse, follow a trail, shoot straight, run an automobile, and be able to 'rough it' whenever necessary.

Yup. A lot of this fall within the "golden age of libraries" (the years between the Civil War and World War One) when the role of libraries was shifting from collection orientation to patron orientation. To entice people into the libraries, the sometimes make seemingly odd choices in purchasing, for instance, Modesto, CA's library purchased a pool table in an effort to keep youngsters out of saloons. (You know all those people complaining about video games in libraries? Tell 'em to shut up). All sorts of compromises were made, but librarians did their best to serve their diverse communities, even going so far to provide books for immigrants, and providing resources for those who want or need to Americanize (unfortunately, this type of service had a downside, it was mostly so they could learn to read English so they could read WASP classics sooner. Also, there was almost nothing for immigrants from Asia, though those may have been more difficult to obtain). Some librarians were able to establish mobile libraries (are you familiar with the phrase "libraries without walls" to refer to digital libraries? These ladies used it first), even going so far as to fill saddle bags with books and travel around distributing them.

I've never been one to fall for the romance of the "wild West", but so much respect for these ladies!

[Anca Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book.