Faith Edith Smith (October 10, 1873 – March 5, 1957) was a librarian on the Education Committee of the American Library Association.

Early life and family

Faith Edith Smith was born on October 10, 1873, in

Aurora, Illinois Aurora is a city in the Chicago metropolitan area located partially in DuPage County, Illinois, DuPage, Kane County, Illinois, Kane, Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall, and Will County, Illinois, Will counties in the U.S. state of Illinois. Locat ...

, the daughter of William B. Smith and Mary Margaret Ferner. Mary Margaret Ferner was born on September 4, 1844, in Ohio, and died on March 9, 1920, the daughter of George Ferner ( 1815–1893) and Catherine Weyand/Weyhandt (1812–1892); Mary M. Ferner married William B. Smith on October 20, 1969, in

Tazewell County, Illinois Tazewell County () is a county in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2010 census, it had a population of 135,394. Its county seat and largest city is Pekin. It is pronounced with a short "a", to rhyme with "razz" rather than "raze." ...

; William was born on December 6, 1844, and died on January 17, 1910, in Aurora, Illinois. They had two children, Faith Edith Smith and Edwin Justus Smith, born November 1, 1875, and died August 17, 1934. Smith attended Aurora High School and then obtained a Ph. B. at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, where she joined the

University Women's Club The University Women's Club, originally the University Club for Ladies, is a British private members club founded in 1883. As the popular gentlemen's clubs did not accept any women as members, its creation was intended to provide an equivalent c ...

. While at College, Smith was the president of the

Young Women's Christian Association The Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) is a nonprofit organization with a focus on empowerment, leadership, and rights of women, young women, and girls in more than 100 countries. The World office is currently based in Geneva, Swi ...

from 1894 to 1895 and assistant at

Northwestern University Library Northwestern University Libraries is the main academic library system of Northwestern University. The library holds 7.9 million item including 228,505 maps, 107,446 print journals and 173,089 electronic journals, making it the 11th largest library ...

from 1896 to 1898. She was a graduate student in French (1896–97) and in History (1897–98) and won the Alumni Merit Award in 1896. From 1898 to 1900 she was a student at

New York State Library The New York State Library is a research library in Albany, New York, United States. It was established in 1818 to serve the state government of New York and is part of the New York State Education Department. The library is one of the largest ...

School, where again she was assistant at the Library from 1898 to 1900, and obtained a B. L. S.

Career

Faith Edith Smith was the principal of the Philosophy and Religion Department at

Los Angeles Public Library The Los Angeles Public Library system (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million residents in the Los Angeles Metropolitan area, it serves the large ...

. Smith was on the Education Committee 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 ...

and was a member of the California Library Association. Smith was a member of the Philosophical Union. In 1922, Smith co-edited ''Best Books of 1921 Selected for a Small Public Library''.

Personal life

Faith Edith Smith started as librarian at

Sedalia, Missouri Sedalia is a city located approximately south of the Missouri River and, as the county seat of Pettis County, Missouri, United States, it is the principal city of the Sedalia Micropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 census, the city had ...

, in 1900, and lived at 219 Clark St., Aurora. She then moved to California, in 1917 and lived at 5007 Townsend Ave., Los Angeles, California. Smith died on March 5, 1957, and is buried at Spring Lake Cemetery, Aurora.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Faith Edith 1873 births 1957 deaths Northwestern University alumni American librarians American women librarians People from Aurora, Illinois