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Beta Phi Mu chapbook #13
The History of a Hoax: Edmund Lester Pearson, John Cotton Dana, and the Old Librarian's Almanack
1979 B & M 13 HARDCOVER
- GenresNonfictionHistory
75 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1979
14 people want to read
About the author
Wayne A. Wiegand
28 books22 followers"Wayne August Wiegand (born April 15, 1946) is an American library historian, author, and academic.
Often referred to as the "Dean of American library historians," Wiegand retired as F. William Summers Professor of Library and Information Studies and Professor of American Studies at Florida State University in 2010. He received a BA in history at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (1968), an MA in history at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1970), and an MLS at Western Michigan University and a Ph.D. in history at Southern Illinois University (1974). Before moving to Tallahassee in 2003 he was Librarian at Urbana College in Ohio (1974-1976), and on the faculties of the College of Library Science at the University of Kentucky (1976-1986) and the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1987-2002). At the latter he also served as founder and Co-Director of the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America (a joint program of the University and the Wisconsin Historical Society established in 1992).
In Spring, 1994, he was William Rand Kenan Jr. Visiting Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In Spring, 1998, he was Fellow in the UW–Madison’s Institute for Research in the Humanities. In 1999 he was elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society, and in Fall, 2000, he was a Spencer Foundation Fellow. Between 2004 and 2007 he served as Executive Director of Beta Phi Mu (the International Library and Information Science Honor Society). As a member of the faculty of the FSU Program in American & Florida Studies, in 2006 he co-organized the Florida Book Awards (the most comprehensive state book awards program in the United States) and until July, 2012, served as its Director. For the academic year 2009-2010 he shared time between Florida State University in Tallahassee and the Winter Park Institute of Rollins College in Orlando, where he was “Scholar in Residence." In 2011 he received a Short-Term Fellowship from the New York Public Library. From 2010 to 2014 he served as President of the Florida State University Friends of Libraries. For the academic year 2008-2009, he was on a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to write a book tentatively entitled ’Part of Our Lives:’ A People’s History of the American Public Library. This book will be published simultaneously with a documentary on the American public library currently being put together by independent film makers.[1]
He currently resides in Walnut Creek, California."
~Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_A....
Often referred to as the "Dean of American library historians," Wiegand retired as F. William Summers Professor of Library and Information Studies and Professor of American Studies at Florida State University in 2010. He received a BA in history at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (1968), an MA in history at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1970), and an MLS at Western Michigan University and a Ph.D. in history at Southern Illinois University (1974). Before moving to Tallahassee in 2003 he was Librarian at Urbana College in Ohio (1974-1976), and on the faculties of the College of Library Science at the University of Kentucky (1976-1986) and the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1987-2002). At the latter he also served as founder and Co-Director of the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America (a joint program of the University and the Wisconsin Historical Society established in 1992).
In Spring, 1994, he was William Rand Kenan Jr. Visiting Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In Spring, 1998, he was Fellow in the UW–Madison’s Institute for Research in the Humanities. In 1999 he was elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society, and in Fall, 2000, he was a Spencer Foundation Fellow. Between 2004 and 2007 he served as Executive Director of Beta Phi Mu (the International Library and Information Science Honor Society). As a member of the faculty of the FSU Program in American & Florida Studies, in 2006 he co-organized the Florida Book Awards (the most comprehensive state book awards program in the United States) and until July, 2012, served as its Director. For the academic year 2009-2010 he shared time between Florida State University in Tallahassee and the Winter Park Institute of Rollins College in Orlando, where he was “Scholar in Residence." In 2011 he received a Short-Term Fellowship from the New York Public Library. From 2010 to 2014 he served as President of the Florida State University Friends of Libraries. For the academic year 2008-2009, he was on a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to write a book tentatively entitled ’Part of Our Lives:’ A People’s History of the American Public Library. This book will be published simultaneously with a documentary on the American public library currently being put together by independent film makers.[1]
He currently resides in Walnut Creek, California."
~Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_A....
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 10, 2019
I have no idea how so many critics didn't figure out that the Almanack was a hoax. It's hilarious and obviously the work of a modern day librarian poking fun at the post-Dewey profession. This chapbook includes an essay delving into Pearson's and Dana's concoction of the Almanack as well as a reprint of the original hoax from 1909. Recommended for anyone who enjoys hoaxes, forgeries, and mystifications.
February 26, 2017
A good, short review of the events leading up to and following the publication of The Old Librarian's Almanack. Also reprints the entire Almanack. Having read the Almanack, I was surprised people thought it real. The stories recounted about other librarians' are pretty obviously fake, but maybe that's just my opinion knowing it is fake...
And to the reviewer who said the Almanack stated on the last page it was a fake, you must be reading a reprint. The original 1909 edition does not have that statement, but a 1962 reprint from G.K. Hall includes it as well as information about why they reprinted it.
And to the reviewer who said the Almanack stated on the last page it was a fake, you must be reading a reprint. The original 1909 edition does not have that statement, but a 1962 reprint from G.K. Hall includes it as well as information about why they reprinted it.
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July 5, 2015couldn't finish it. Too much like a text book and not nearly as enjoyable is the hysterical Old Librarian's Almanack. I don't know why this book is titled the way it is. The Old Librarian's Almanack says that it is all a fabrication on the last page!! Maybe if this had been published closer to the time when Pearson was publishing his entries seperately, before he collected them and published them together, it would have been more interesting. But since I already knew it was a joke, History of a Hoax just didn't interest me. Sorry.
March 7, 2014
Hilarious.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews