Elizabeth Homer Morton (February 3, 1903 – July 6, 1977) was a Canadian librarian. She was the best-known librarian of her generation. The daughter of Canadian missionaries, she was born in

Tunapuna Tunapuna is a town in the East–West Corridor of the island of Trinidad, in Trinidad and Tobago. Town Tunapuna is located between St. Augustine, Tacarigua and Trincity. Tunapuna is the largest town between San Juan and Arima. It is an importa ...

Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands of Trinidad and Tobago. The island lies off the northeastern coast of Venezuela and sits on the continental shelf of South America. It is often referred to as the southernmos ...

, received her early education there and attended

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

Saint John, New Brunswick Saint John is a seaport city of the Atlantic Ocean located on the Bay of Fundy in the province of New Brunswick, Canada. Saint John is the oldest incorporated city in Canada, established by royal charter on May 18, 1785, during the reign of Ki ...

. Morton earned a BA from

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the fou ...

and a teacher's license at the

Normal School A normal school or normal college is an institution created to Teacher education, train teachers by educating them in the norms of pedagogy and curriculum. In the 19th century in the United States, instruction in normal schools was at the high s ...

Truro, Nova Scotia Truro (Mi'kmaq: ''Wagobagitik''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Truru'') is a town in central Nova Scotia, Canada. Truro is the shire town of Colchester County and is located on the south side of the Salmon River floodplain, close to the river's mouth at ...

. She taught briefly in

Cape Breton Cape Breton Island (french: link=no, île du Cap-Breton, formerly '; gd, Ceap Breatainn or '; mic, Unamaꞌki) is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America and part of the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. The island accounts for 18. ...

. She took a librarian's course at the Ontario Library School in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

and was hired by the cataloguing department of the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pu ...

. In 1928, Morton returned to New Brunswick, where she served as a teacher and helped organize a library at the Saint John Vocational School. She later served as secretary for the New Brunswick Library Commission. From 1931 to 1944, she worked in the reference department of the Toronto Public Library. From 1936 to 1943, she was also secretary-treasurer for the

Ontario Library Association The Ontario Library Association (OLA) was established in 1900 and is the oldest continually operating library association in Canada. With 5,000 members, OLA is also the largest library association in Canada and among the 10 largest library associ ...

. In 1944, she was named executive secretary for the Canadian Library Council. Morton was the founding director of the

Canadian Library Association The Canadian Library Association (CLA) was a national, predominantly English-language association which represented 57,000 library workers across Canada. It also spoke for the interests of the 21 million Canadians who are members of libraries. C ...

(CLA), serving from 1946 to 1968. Under her leadership, the CLA pushed for the creation of Canada's National Library, later

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; french: Bibliothèque et Archives Canada) is the federal institution, tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is th ...

. She was also the first editor of ''The Canadian Library Journal and Feliciter''. In 1969, she completed a MA in library science at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. She worked as a library consultant for the Canadian National Library and was hired by

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

to report on library services in

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

. Morton was named to the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

in 1968. In 1969, she was named an honorary Doctor of Laws by the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Rutherfor ...

. She died in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

at the age of 94. In 1988, the Elizabeth Morton Memorial Fund was established.

References

External links

Elizabeth Homer Morton biography
at Ex Libris Association {{DEFAULTSORT:Morton, Elizabeth Homer 1903 births 1997 deaths Canadian librarians Canadian women librarians Dalhousie University alumni University of Chicago alumni Members of the Order of Canada University of Chicago Graduate Library School alumni Canadian expatriates in Trinidad and Tobago