Emerson Greenaway (May 25, 1906 – April 8, 1990)[1] was an American librarian of considerable note, particularly during the Cold War era of the 1950s. During his long career, he acted as the director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore, the director of the Free Library of Philadelphia and president of the American Library Association. He was also a highly respected scholar and an advocate for intellectual freedom in wartime. Greenaway also came under fire for his participation in anti-communist government committees. In 1999, American Libraries named Greenaway as one of the one hundred most important library figures of the 20th century.[2]
Greenaway was born in 1906 in Massachusetts. Although he would go on to have considerable influence over libraries in all of the United States, Greenaway never lived far from the East coast. Greenaway was educated at the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science (then called "The North Carolina Library School"[3]). Greenaway eventually received honorary degrees from both Wheaton College[4] and Drexel University.[5]
The true beginning of Greenaway's illustrious library career occurred in April 1945, when he became the director of Baltimore's Pratt Library.[6] During his time as head of the Pratt Library, Greenaway introduced both a film department and the bookmobile, both of which continue to serve the Baltimore community today. Greenaway was a longtime advocate of adult education but also placed a great deal of emphasis on children's within the Pratt Library.[7] While with the Pratt Library, Greenaway also began to study international libraries. This fascination would follow him throughout the remainder of his life.[8]
Philadelphia yearsedit
In 1951, Greenaway stepped down as director of the Pratt Library to begin his position as head of Philadelphia's Free Library.[9] It was during this era (until his 1969 retirement from both the Free Library and the bulk of his library career) that Greenaway's life was perhaps most driven and interesting. The political climate during his time in Philadelphia forced him to confront issues of race, political motivations, library funding and information freedom.
Greenaway pushed to expand library systems in many ways. He was a vocal proponent of federal funding for libraries rather than requiring smaller communities to take on the bulk of the financial burden. Greenaway also supported the concept of urban library systems which would consolidate the collections and resources of many smaller rural libraries into one more expansive system.[10] In a 1959 speech and accompanying article for the American Philosophical Society, he detailed his own plans to create physical library spaces to better serve patrons.[11] Chief among his ideas were proper space and physical buildings adapted to the needs of the community.
Cold War eraedit
Greenaway's relationship with the Cold War era and the (second) Red Scare was extremely complicated. Primarily, Greenaway was a strong proponent of intellectual freedom. In the 1950s he served as chair for the Intellectual Freedom Committee, a branch of the American Library Association which tasks itself with protecting the privacy rights of library patrons.[12] In 1950 he led an unsuccessful fight against the "Ober Oath," one of many "loyalty oaths" directed at libraries put in place by the United States government.[13] However, Greenaway also supported anti-communist measures by the United States and was privately thought by many to be a supporter of Joseph McCarthy.[14] Greenaway argued that one of the main purposes of public access to information was to educate the masses against beliefs he found undesirable, such as communism. One may perhaps surmise that Greenaway was himself politically conservative but nevertheless respected and believed in the value of freedom to information.
Despite Greenaway's dedication to information freedom, he came under fire when the Free Library was named in the Access to Public Libraries study to be one of three urban Northern libraries (the other two being Detroit and Washington, D.C.) which openly discriminated against African-Americans.[15] Greenaway hotly contested the methods used by the survey.
Later careeredit
In 1955 the American Library Association honored him with the Joseph W. Lippincott Award for distinguished service to the profession of librarianship.[16] The height of Greenaway's career was from 1958 to 1959, during which time he served as president of the American Library Association.[17] During this time Greenaway continued to be active in issues of censorship and freedom of information. His involvement with the ALA did not cease after he stepped down from the presidency. He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1960.[18] In 1964, he participated in an ALA-sponsored delegation trip to the Soviet Union, an area he had studied closely during his time as president of the ALA.[19] He also continued to serve on several task forces for the ALA. He received a special citation in 1976 at the centennial of the Association. [20]
Following his retirement from the library world at large in 1969, Greenaway moved to New London, N.H. with his wife, Helen (Kidder) Greenaway. He continued to volunteer in libraries until close to his death.[21]
Referencesedit
^"Emerson Greenaway." Almanac of Famous People. Gale, 2011. Biography In Context. Web. 23 Sept. 2013.
^Kniffel, Leonard; Sullivan, Peggy (1999). "100 of the Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century". American Libraries. 30 (11): 38.
^. UNC. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-10-20. Retrieved 2010-09-15.
^. Wheaton College Massachusetts. Archived from the original on January 1, 2021. Retrieved June 24, 2022.
^. Drexel University. 2007. Archived from the original on 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2010-09-17.
^Greenaway, Emerson (1959). "The Relation of Library Buildings to Library Functions". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 104 (4): 391–397.
^Robbins, Louise S. (1996). Censorship and the American Library: The American Library Association's Response to Threats to Intellectual Freedom, 1939-1969. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. p. 115. ISBN0-313-29644-8.
^Robbins, Louise S. (1996). Censorship and the American Library: The American Library Association's Response to Threats to Intellectual Freedom, 1939-1969. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. p. 208. ISBN0-313-29644-8.
^Robbins, Louise S. (1996). Censorship and the American Library: The American Library Association's Response to Threats to Intellectual Freedom, 1939-1969. Santa Barbara: Greenwood Press. p. 119. ISBN0-313-29644-8.
^Joseph W. Lippincott Award. American Library Association. 1955.
^. 2010. Archived from the original on 2010-09-13. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
^"APS Member History". search.amphilsoc.org. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
^"The New York Times Obituary". The New York Times. 1990. Retrieved 2010-09-16.
^Special Centennial Citation To recognize outstanding contributions to the profession. American Library Association, 1976.
emerson, greenaway, 1906, april, 1990, american, librarian, considerable, note, particularly, during, cold, 1950s, during, long, career, acted, director, enoch, pratt, free, library, baltimore, director, free, library, philadelphia, president, american, librar. Emerson Greenaway May 25 1906 April 8 1990 1 was an American librarian of considerable note particularly during the Cold War era of the 1950s During his long career he acted as the director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library of Baltimore the director of the Free Library of Philadelphia and president of the American Library Association He was also a highly respected scholar and an advocate for intellectual freedom in wartime Greenaway also came under fire for his participation in anti communist government committees In 1999 American Libraries named Greenaway as one of the one hundred most important library figures of the 20th century 2 Emerson GreenawayGreenaway c 1955President of the American Library AssociationIn office 1958 1959Preceded byLucile M MorschSucceeded byBenjamin E PowellPersonal detailsBorn 1906 05 25 May 25 1906Massachusetts USDiedApril 8 1990 1990 04 08 aged 83 New London New Hampshire USSpouseHelen KidderAlma materThe North Carolina Library SchoolKnown forAdvocate of information freedomAwardsHonorary degrees from Wheaton and Drexel American Libraries 100 most important library figures Contents 1 Early career 2 Philadelphia years 3 Cold War era 4 Later career 5 ReferencesEarly career editGreenaway was born in 1906 in Massachusetts Although he would go on to have considerable influence over libraries in all of the United States Greenaway never lived far from the East coast Greenaway was educated at the University of North Carolina School of Information and Library Science then called The North Carolina Library School 3 Greenaway eventually received honorary degrees from both Wheaton College 4 and Drexel University 5 The true beginning of Greenaway s illustrious library career occurred in April 1945 when he became the director of Baltimore s Pratt Library 6 During his time as head of the Pratt Library Greenaway introduced both a film department and the bookmobile both of which continue to serve the Baltimore community today Greenaway was a longtime advocate of adult education but also placed a great deal of emphasis on children s within the Pratt Library 7 While with the Pratt Library Greenaway also began to study international libraries This fascination would follow him throughout the remainder of his life 8 Philadelphia years editIn 1951 Greenaway stepped down as director of the Pratt Library to begin his position as head of Philadelphia s Free Library 9 It was during this era until his 1969 retirement from both the Free Library and the bulk of his library career that Greenaway s life was perhaps most driven and interesting The political climate during his time in Philadelphia forced him to confront issues of race political motivations library funding and information freedom Greenaway pushed to expand library systems in many ways He was a vocal proponent of federal funding for libraries rather than requiring smaller communities to take on the bulk of the financial burden Greenaway also supported the concept of urban library systems which would consolidate the collections and resources of many smaller rural libraries into one more expansive system 10 In a 1959 speech and accompanying article for the American Philosophical Society he detailed his own plans to create physical library spaces to better serve patrons 11 Chief among his ideas were proper space and physical buildings adapted to the needs of the community Cold War era editGreenaway s relationship with the Cold War era and the second Red Scare was extremely complicated Primarily Greenaway was a strong proponent of intellectual freedom In the 1950s he served as chair for the Intellectual Freedom Committee a branch of the American Library Association which tasks itself with protecting the privacy rights of library patrons 12 In 1950 he led an unsuccessful fight against the Ober Oath one of many loyalty oaths directed at libraries put in place by the United States government 13 However Greenaway also supported anti communist measures by the United States and was privately thought by many to be a supporter of Joseph McCarthy 14 Greenaway argued that one of the main purposes of public access to information was to educate the masses against beliefs he found undesirable such as communism One may perhaps surmise that Greenaway was himself politically conservative but nevertheless respected and believed in the value of freedom to information Despite Greenaway s dedication to information freedom he came under fire when the Free Library was named in the Access to Public Libraries study to be one of three urban Northern libraries the other two being Detroit and Washington D C which openly discriminated against African Americans 15 Greenaway hotly contested the methods used by the survey Later career editIn 1955 the American Library Association honored him with the Joseph W Lippincott Award for distinguished service to the profession of librarianship 16 The height of Greenaway s career was from 1958 to 1959 during which time he served as president of the American Library Association 17 During this time Greenaway continued to be active in issues of censorship and freedom of information His involvement with the ALA did not cease after he stepped down from the presidency He was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 1960 18 In 1964 he participated in an ALA sponsored delegation trip to the Soviet Union an area he had studied closely during his time as president of the ALA 19 He also continued to serve on several task forces for the ALA He received a special citation in 1976 at the centennial of the Association 20 Following his retirement from the library world at large in 1969 Greenaway moved to New London N H with his wife Helen Kidder Greenaway He continued to volunteer in libraries until close to his death 21 References edit Emerson Greenaway Almanac of Famous People Gale 2011 Biography In Context Web 23 Sept 2013 Kniffel Leonard Sullivan Peggy 1999 100 of the Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century American Libraries 30 11 38 UNC School of Information and Library Science timeline UNC 2010 Archived from the original on 2010 10 20 Retrieved 2010 09 15 Emerson Greenway Honorary Degree Recipient Wheaton College Massachusetts Archived from the original on January 1 2021 Retrieved June 24 2022 Drexel University Honorary Degrees Drexel University 2007 Archived from the original on 2010 09 03 Retrieved 2010 09 17 Pratt Library 2007 Retrieved 2010 09 16 Greenaway Emerson 1961 The Librarian and Adult Education The Library Quarterly 31 1 25 32 doi 10 1086 618841 S2CID 145086138 Davis Donald G 2003 Dictionary of American Library Biography Santa Barbara Libraries Unlimited p 118 ISBN 1 56308 868 1 Pratt Library 2007 Retrieved 2010 09 16 Davis Donald G 2003 Dictionary of American Library Biography Santa Barbara Libraries Unlimited p 118 ISBN 1 56308 868 1 Greenaway Emerson 1959 The Relation of Library Buildings to Library Functions Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 104 4 391 397 Robbins Louise S 1996 Censorship and the American Library The American Library Association s Response to Threats to Intellectual Freedom 1939 1969 Santa Barbara Greenwood Press p 115 ISBN 0 313 29644 8 Robbins Louise S 1996 Censorship and the American Library The American Library Association s Response to Threats to Intellectual Freedom 1939 1969 Santa Barbara Greenwood Press p 208 ISBN 0 313 29644 8 Davis Donald G 2003 Dictionary of American Library Biography Santa Barbara Libraries Unlimited p 119 ISBN 1 56308 868 1 Robbins Louise S 1996 Censorship and the American Library The American Library Association s Response to Threats to Intellectual Freedom 1939 1969 Santa Barbara Greenwood Press p 119 ISBN 0 313 29644 8 Joseph W Lippincott Award American Library Association 1955 American Library Association 2010 Archived from the original on 2010 09 13 Retrieved 2010 09 16 APS Member History search amphilsoc org Retrieved 2022 11 29 The New York Times Obituary The New York Times 1990 Retrieved 2010 09 16 Special Centennial Citation To recognize outstanding contributions to the profession American Library Association 1976 Davis Donald G 2003 Dictionary of American Library Biography Santa Barbara Libraries Unlimited p 120 ISBN 1 56308 868 1 Non profit organization positionsPreceded byLucile M Morsch President of the American Library Association1958 1959 Succeeded byBenjamin E Powell Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Emerson Greenaway amp oldid 1213394758, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
