Hall of Fame
The Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame was created by the Wisconsin Library Association Foundation Board as part of the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center. Inductees into the Hall of Fame are selected by the Steering Committee of the Wisconsin Library Heritage Center. Provision is made to accept nominations from outside of the Committee. The Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame includes both librarians and library supporters. On November 6, 2008 the first ten individuals were inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame at the Wisconsin Library Association Conference in Middleton, Wisconsin. On October 22, 2009, seven additional individuals will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the WLA Conference in Appleton. Charles Bunge will be the first living individual inducted into the Hall of Fame. Wisconsin has had many noteworthy librarians and library supporters and it is anticipated that multiple individuals will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in each of the next few years.
2009 Inductees (Click on name to see expanded biography)
Charles A. Bunge is Professor Emeritus in the School of Library and Information Studies (SLIS) at the University of Wisconsin – Madison. Bunge completed a thirty year career as a library educator before his retirement from SLIS in 1997. He was director of the library school from 1971 to 1981. Bunge served as president of WLA in 1972-73, and was selected as WLA Librarian of the Year in 1983. He contributed significantly to the improvement of reference service in libraries in Wisconsin and the nation through extensive publications and educational programs.
Matthew Simpson Dudgeon (1871-1949)
Matthew S. Dudgeon served as Secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission (WLFC) from 1909 until 1920. Dudgeon played an active role in the Library War Service of the American Library Association in World War I. In 1919 he took a leave of absence from the WLFC to serve as director of camp libraries for the Library War Service. In 1920 he was appointed director of the Milwaukee Public Library, a position he held for 21 years. Dudgeon served as President of the Wisconsin Library Association in 1921-1922.
S. Janice Kee served as Secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission 1956-1965. She provided leadership for significant statewide planning during this period and for the implementation of the federal Library Services Act in Wisconsin. This planning served as the foundation for Wisconsin’s public library systems. She received WLA's Special Service Award in 1965.
Henry Eduard Legler (1861-1917)
Henry E. Legler served as Secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission (WFLC) from 1904 to 1909. During his tenure in that capacity he left an important legacy to the state's libraries. He established the Wisconsin Library Bulletin in 1905 which played a major role in conveying information and knowledge to the Wisconsin library community. After leaving Wisconsin in 1909 he became Director of the Chicago Public Library, a post he served in until his death in 1917. He served as President of the American Library Association in 1912-13.
Klas August Linderfelt (1847-1900)
Klas August Linderfelt served as the Director of the Milwaukee Public Library from 1880 to 1892. The construction of the new public library and museum building in Milwaukee in 1897 was due largely to Linderfelt’s initial planning efforts. He was one of the founders of the Wisconsin Library Association (WLA) and was elected its first president in 1891. Linderfelt was active in the American Library Association (ALA) and served as a councilor from 1883 to 1891. In 1890 he was elected vice-president of ALA and in 1891 he was elected president. Due to an unfavorable circumstance ALA voided Linderfelt’s election as president.
Charles R. McCarthy (1873-1921)
Charles R. McCarthy was the first librarian of the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library. He was a leader in the Progressive Movement and was the author of The Wisconsin Idea. The Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library served as a prototype for such libraries in other states and also was the model for the Congressional Research Service of the Library of Congress. A plaque honoring McCarthy is located in the Assembly chambers of the Capitol in Madison.
Margaret Ellen Monroe (1914-2004)
Margaret E. Monroe served as Professor and Director of the Library School (now the School of Library and Information Studies) at the University of Wisconsin – Madison from 1963 until 1970. In 1970 she returned to full time teaching at the library school. She retired as Professor Emeritus in 1981. Monroe was a national leader in adult services in libraries. In 1985 the American Library Association (ALA) created the Margaret E. Monroe Library Adult Services Award in her honor.
2008 Inductees (Click on name to see biography)
Lyman Copeland Draper (1815-1891)
Theresa West Elmendorf (1855-1932)
Muriel Laura Fuller (1912-1978)
Mary Emogene Hazeltine (1868-1949)
Frank Avery Hutchins (1851-1914)
Lutie Eugenia Stearns (1866-1943)
Reuben Gold Thwaites (1853-1913)
Should the list include Julia Wright Merrill, who worked with the Commission and went on to develop the public library extension program for ALA ... she was originally from Ohio, got her bachelors in library science from Illinois, but worked in Wisconsin, apparently with Lutie Stearns. Still working on that part.
This is a very informative and well designed website. I love the selections from the library hall of fame, although I wish you could find a photo of Lutie Stearns in a sled cobered in bear skin rugs as well as the one you have.
Thank you for spreading the word about librarians and librarianship.
So glad to read the news of this new recognition and of the first group of people chosen to be honored! I did notice that reference was made to Joseph Rathbone, but I am rather sure that is Josephine Rathbone, another ALA president.
I knew both Betty Burr and Murial Fuller and read about most of the others as I was researching CARL H. MILAM AND THE AMERICAN LIBRARY ASSOCIATION. Good choices! For the future, i hope you have developed and will be disseminating good, clear criteria to use in making nominations and selections. All the best!
Peggy,
Thanks for your comments. You are correct that the reference in the entry for Theresa West Elmendorf should be to Josephine Rathbone not Joseph Rathbone. The article written by Rathbone is located at http://www.hwwilson.com/Databases/PDFsample/WLB/pioneers.pdf .
Rathbone reminiscences about the library pioneers that she knew. It is well worth reading.
Larry
I'm delighted to see Lutie Stearns in your first round of inductees. she was a wonderful woman. One change. My book about her is called "Books in a Box" Thanks for your work.
If the scope of the Hall of Fame includes those who were born here, but had careers elsewhere, I'd vote for Milwaukee native Adelaide Hasse, one of the most prominent librarians in the US in the first half of the twentieth century and designer of the SUDOC classification. If she is within the scope, I'd like to nominate her. Is there a nomination form or should we send nominations to the Steering committee?
Thanks for a wonderful website! I refer students here all the time.
Tom Walker, UWM SOIS
Thanks Tom. We will have a nomination form for 2010 Hall of Fame nominees. We will be announcing the procedure for nominations in the not too distant future. Larry