Althea Warren
Althea Warren | |
---|---|
Keyes D. Metcalf | |
Succeeded by | Carl Vitz |
Personal details | |
Born | Waukegan, Illinois, US | December 18, 1886
Died | December 19, 1958 | (aged 72)
Occupation | Librarian |
Althea Hester Warren (December 18, 1886 – December 19, 1958) was the director of the Los Angeles (California) Public Library from 1933 to 1947 and president of the American Library Association in 1943-1944.[1] She was inducted into the California Library Association's Library Hall of Fame in 2013.[2]
Biography and career
Warren was born on December 18, 1886, in
In November 1941, Warren, who was considered "#1 in the field of Women Librarians," took a leave from her Los Angeles job to become director of the ALA's National Defense Book Campaign, which sought to collect and organize distribution of books to American servicemen. The campaign, headquartered in New York City, eventually became known among her closest friends as "Warren's child."[3] Warren was California Library Association president in 1921 and American Library Association (ALA) president in 1943-1944. She worked on the national level to increase federal aid to libraries and to end discrimination faced by African American librarians at ALA conference hotels.[1]
Warren retired in 1947 and then taught in
Personal life
Warren was gay. She and Gladys English, the Los Angeles Public Library's head of the Children's Department, were in love, (Orlean, The Library Book, pg. 197), living and traveling together for years.[4] After English died, Warren created the American Library Association's Gladys English Memorial Collection, also called the Gladys English Collection.[5][4]
References
- ^ a b c d e Martha Boaz, Fervent and Full of Gifts: The Life of Althea Warren (New York: Scarecrow Press, 1961); Dorothy Drake and Virginia Milbank Fromme, Althea Warren, Librarian, N.P.: California Library Association, 1962, and "Happy 125th Birthday, Althea Warren," Library History Buff, as cited at California History Hall of Fame: Althea Warren
- ^ "California Library Hall of Fame: Althea Warren (1886-1958)". California Library Association. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ ISBN 9780544535022
- ^ a b Brozyna, Andrew J. "Read Like A Cat Sleeps: The Formidable Career of Librarian Althea Warren" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.
- ^ "Gladys English". Los Angeles Public Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2022. Retrieved August 12, 2022.