Azariah Smith Root (February 3, 1862 – October 2, 1927) was an American librarian and educator. Root earned both bachelor's and master's degrees from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...

in 1884 and 1887 respectively. He went on to study law at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

from 1884 to 1885 and at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

from 1886 to 1887. Later, Root studied library science and bibliography at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen, (german: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen, known informally as Georgia Augusta) is a public research university in the city of Göttingen, Germany. Founded ...

from 1888 to 1889. Root returned to Oberlin College in 1890 as the library director and a professor of bibliography, positions he would hold until his death. During his tenure at Oberlin, Root became the premier spokesperson for college librarianship during his era. He led the growth of Oberlin's collection through gifts and exchange programs and by 1924 had established Oberlin's library as the largest college library in the nation. Root was also a leader in the library profession. He was a founding member of the American Library Association's College Library Section in 1899 (precursor of the

Association of College and Research Libraries The Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of academic librarians and other interested individuals. It is dedicated to enhancing the ability of academi ...

) and a founding member of the

Bibliographical Society of America The Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) is the oldest learned society in North America dedicated to the study of books and manuscripts as physical objects. Established in 1904, the society promotes bibliographical research and issues bibliograp ...

. He was president of the Ohio Library Association from 1900 to 1901 and again from 1914 to 1915. He was president of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members a ...

from 1921 to 1922. Root was the first secretary of the Hayes Historical Society from 1925 to 1927, and he collaborated with Webb C. Hayes in establishing the Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial Library. Root taught at

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

from 1904 to 1927 and served as acting principal of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress ...

School from 1916 to 1917. He also oversaw the American Correspondence School of Librarianship from 1923 to 1927.

Bibliography

The Library School of the Future
American Library Association, Volume 11 (July 1, 1917)
Round Table of Training Class Teachers
Bulletin of the American Library Association, Volume 12 (September 1, 1918)
President's Address
Bulletin of the American Library Association, Volume 16 (July 1, 1922)

References

1862 births 1927 deaths American librarians Presidents of the American Library Association Oberlin College alumni Presidents of the Bibliographical Society of America {{Library-bio-stub

Bibliography

See also

References