Ellen Ruth Rockwood (1872 - April 13, 1952) was a librarian.

Early life

Ellen Ruth Rockwood was born in 1872 in

Rensselaer Falls, New York Rensselaer Falls is a village located in St. Lawrence County, New York. As of the 2010 census, the village had a total population of 332. The current name came from mill owner Henry Van Rensselaer. The Village of Rensselaer Falls is in the wester ...

. Rockwood obtained a A.B. degree from

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

Career

E. Ruth Rockwood was the Head of the Reference department, of the

Library Association of Portland Multnomah County Library is the public library system serving Portland and Multnomah County, Oregon, United States. A continuation of the Library Association of Portland, established in 1864, the system now has 19 branches offering books, magazine ...

, which she joined in 1901. She held the position until retirement in 1938. She was a member of the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide network of 170,000 ...

and of the Professional Women's League. She contributed to the ''Pacific Historical Review'' and to the ''

Oregon Historical Society The Oregon Historical Society (OHS) is an organization that encourages and promotes the study and understanding of the history of the Oregon Country, within the broader context of U.S. history. Incorporated in 1898, the Society collects, preserv ...

Quarterly'' for which she edited ''Diary of the Rev. George H. Atkinson, 1847- 1858'' and ''Letters of Charles Stevens''. Always for the Oregon Historical Society, Rockwood completed an exhaustive compilation of Oregon State Documents. It was published by the State of Oregon as an official document under the title of ''A Checklist of Oregon State Documents''. She was in charge of the Pacific Northwest Library Association Bibliography; the original collection was built by Rockwood at the Library Association in Portland, and served as assistance to collectors and librarians of the smaller libraries. In 1916 she was appointed chairman of the

Pacific Northwest Library Association The Pacific Northwest Library Association (PNLA) is a professional organization for the Pacific Northwest's librarians and library workers headquartered in Bothell, Washington. It has over 200 members from Alaska, Alberta, British Columbia, Idaho, ...

. In December 1928 Rockwood was a charter member of the Subscription Books Committee, a group to provide evaluations and advice on encyclopedias, subscription sets, and allied compends, newly founded by 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 ...

(ALA).

Personal life

E. Ruth Rockwood moved to Oregon in 1886 and she lived at Alexandra Court Hotel,

Portland, Oregon Portland (, ) is a port city in the Pacific Northwest and the largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon. Situated at the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers, Portland is the county seat of Multnomah County, the most populous ...

. She died on April 13, 1952 and is buried at Mountain View Cemetery (Ashland, Oregon), in the Old Cemetery side, Lot 343.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rockwood, E. Ruth 1872 births 1952 deaths Bryn Mawr College alumni American librarians American women librarians People from St. Lawrence County, New York People from Portland, Oregon