Hannah Packard James
BornSeptember 5, 1835
Scituate, Massachusetts
DiedApril 20, 1903
Norwell, Massachusetts
Alma materBoston Athenæum
OccupationLibrarian
Known forA founder of the American Library Association

Hannah Packard James (September 5, 1835 – April 20, 1903) was an American librarian, a founder of the Pennsylvania Library Association and helped to create the American Library Association.[1]

Biography

Hannah Packard James was born on September 5, 1835, in South Scituate, Massachusetts, now known as Norwell. She was strongly influenced by her father, William James, who was the biggest landowner in the area.[2]

James studied in a district school at Norwell. During her childhood, she showed a keen interest for books, and compiled her own catalog. Her training at the Boston Athenæum helped her to become a librarian at the Newton Free Library, a public library in Massachusetts, when it opened in 1870. She worked at Newton for seventeen years.[3] While there she was actively engaging libraries with the schools and played an important role in improving children's reading.[4]

Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania

By the late 1880s when she was invited to move to Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, she had already built a national reputation for her work with teachers and schoolchildren. She was associated with a number of professional organizations in an effort to improve library systems, and attended various conferences.[2][5] James had also lectured at the School of Library Service at Columbia University in New York, which was the first professional academic program for librarians.[2]

At that time, Wilkes-Barre was an undeveloped city and had only a few dispersed collections of books. The city lacked a central location that could house many volumes and allow free access to men, women and children. Creating such a library was the inspiration of Isaac Osterhout, a local businessman who willed a substantial portion of his estate for the building and to retain a librarian. Soon the committee hired James to become head librarian and take control of the project.[2] The Osterhout Free Library finally opened its doors to the public on January 29, 1889.[6]

According to Lear, James left a substantial legacy: "the first librarian of the Osterhout Free Library in Wilkes-Barre, one of the founders of the Pennsylvania Library Association, and an early leader in the American Library Association."[2]

In November 1902, James gave up library-related work following an illness.[7] She died of pneumonia on April 20, 1903.[2]

References

  1. ↑ Gunzenhauser, Bonnie (6 October 2015). Reading in History: New Methodologies from the Anglo-American Tradition. Oxon: Routledge. p. 110. ISBN 978-1-317-31618-3. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lear, Bernadette, YANKEE LIBRARIAN IN THE DIAMOND CITY: HANNAH PACKARD JAMES, THE OSTERHOUT FREE LIBRARY OF WILKES-BARRE, AND THE PUBLIC LIBRARY MOVEMENT IN PENNSYLVANIA. Pennsylvania history: a journal of mid-Atlantic studies, vol. 78, no. 2, 2011 https://journals.psu.edu/phj/article/view/60290
  3. ↑ Miller, Marilyn Lea (2003). Pioneers and Leaders in Library Services to Youth: A Biographical Dictionary. Exeter: Libraries Unlimited. p. 112. ISBN 978-1-591-58028-7. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Garrison, Dee (2003). Apostles of Culture: The Public Librarian and American Society, 1876-1920. Madison: University of Wisconsin Press. p. 244. ISBN 978-0-299-18114-7. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Rimby, Susan (2012). Mira Lloyd Dock and the Progressive Era Conservation Movement. University Park, Pennsylvania: Penn State Press. p. 95. ISBN 978-0-271-05624-1. Retrieved 11 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "A Brief History of the Osterhout Library". Osterhout Free Library. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  7. ↑ Miller 2003, p. 113.
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