Isadore Gilbert Mudge (March 14, 1875 – May 16, 1957)
was ranked by the magazine ''
American Libraries
''American Libraries'' is the flagship magazine of the American Library Association (ALA).
About
''American Libraries'' was first published in 1970 as a continuation of the long-running ''ALA Bulletin,'' which had served as the Association’s ...
'' as one of the top 100 important leaders that libraries have had in the 20th century. Mudge was a defining influence on what a contemporary reference librarian is and was essential for helping organize and promote reference books for use in helping patrons find information and answers to questions.
The only biography that exists of Isadore Gilbert Mudge is a dissertation written by Columbia student, John N. Waddell, in 1973.
In one portion he sums up what were her ideals, “Mudge’s professional concerns were not confined to the Columbia reference department….She was constantly concerned with the problems and tools bibliographical control in the widest possible area….but herself preached the gospel of cooperative bibliographic at home and abroad, by pen and by tongue.”
Biography
Isadore Gilbert Mudge was raised in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
, as the oldest child in her family.
[Dr. John V. Richardson, Jr., Professor (March 1999) Mudge, Isadore Gilbert; American National Biography Retrieved from http://polaris.gseis.ucla.edu/jrichardson/dis245/IMUDGE.HTM] Her father was an attorney and her mother was the daughter of a
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
librarian. She attended Brooklyn’s Adelphi Academy and then went to
Cornell University
Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...
for philosophy.
She was elected to be a member of
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States, and the most prestigious, due in part to its long history and academic selectivity. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal ...
for being an outstanding student in her junior year.
She was also a member of
Kappa Alpha Theta
Kappa Alpha Theta (), also known simply as Theta, is an international women’s fraternity founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University, formerly Indiana Asbury. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established for women. The main arc ...
, the first Greek fraternity for women.
[Albert Nelson Marquis (Ed.) (1931) ''Who’s Who In America'', Vol. 16, 1930-1931] During her undergraduate studies she was motivated by Professor and Librarian
George Lincoln Burr
George Lincoln Burr (January 30, 1857 – June 27, 1938) was a US historian, diplomat, author, and educator, best known as a Professor of History and Librarian at Cornell University, and as the closest collaborator of Andrew Dickson White, the ...
to pursue her own library degree.
Mudge then went to
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...
, to attend the New York State Library School, where she received her “Bachelor of Library Science degree with distinction in 1900”.
She never married or had children.
Librarian
From her first job as a librarian, Mudge wanted library patrons to be able to access reference books and learn on an independent basis. Mudge’s first job was twofold; she “was the head reference librarian at the
University of Illinois: Urbana and an associate professor at the University of Illinois Library School.
For three years she maintained both positions. Mudge left the University of Illinois to become the head librarian at
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 ...
. She considered herself an easterner
and that may have been why she changed positions. She worked there for five years and spent the following three years working on writing, traveling to Europe, and from 1910 to 1911, Mudge also worked part-time as an instructor at
Simmons College
Institutions of learning called Simmons College or Simmons University include:
* Simmons University, a women's liberal arts college in Boston, Massachusetts
* Simmons College of Kentucky, a historically black college in Louisville, Kentucky
* Ha ...
.
[John S. Bowman (1995) ''The Cambridge Dictionary of American Biography''; Cambridge University Press. Retrieved from http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Mudge,+Isadore+Gilbert]
Columbia University
In 1911 Mudge was hired at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
. The President of Columbia,
Nicholas Murray Butler
Nicholas Murray Butler () was an American philosopher, diplomat, and educator. Butler was president of Columbia University, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, and the deceased Ja ...
, became one of her earliest supporters. Butler found her “incredibly resourceful in meeting his varied reference and bibliographic needs.”
She began to push for all libraries to have a reference section that would include at least “the possession of certain basic works, a dictionary, an encyclopedia, an atlas, a biographical dictionary” but hopefully would also include “a book of quotations, handbook of statistics, a state or government manual”.
Around 1927 she began working as an associate professor at Columbia’s new School of Library Services, teaching
Bibliography and Bibliographic Methods.
It was teaching this class she coined her phrase “material, mind and method”.
She believed reference librarians should know the materials they dealt with, be intelligent with a high quality memory and be able to answer questions in a clear way including the source of material they were using. One of her students published an article in a 1937 ''
Library Journal'' sharing these ideas.
“Reviewing Mudge’s career at Columbia,
Constance Mabel Winchell, Mudge’s protégée, said: ‘Probably no other one person has contributed so much to the raising the standards of reference collections and reference services in the libraries of this and other countries.’"
Writing
Around the time Mudge came to Columbia, 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 ...
asked her to update ''
Guide to Reference Books'', which was desperately needing a supplement to go along with the original edition.
She edited the guide through four editions over 20 years.
This was an important book at that time to show new librarians what resources were available. This is what she is best known for. She also wrote articles for the ''Library Journal'', worked on editing and creating bibliographies, dictionaries and other reference materials. Quite often her writings were assisted by
Minnie Earl Sears
Minnie Earl Sears (17 November 1873 – 28 November 1933) formulated the Sears List of Subject Headings, a simplification of the Library of Congress Subject Headings. In 1999, ''American Libraries'' named her one of the "100 Most Important Lea ...
, a colleague and companion.
Some of Mudge's writings are still found at Columbia University.
Legacy
Every year since 1958, RUSA, a division of the American Library Association, and the Gale Cengage Learning sponsor the Isadore Gilbert Mudge Award. The recipient is someone who has made a difference in reference librarianship that year. The chosen winner receives $5,000 and a citation.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mudge, Isadore
1875 births
1957 deaths
American librarians
Columbia University faculty
Columbia University librarians
Cornell University alumni
People from Brooklyn
Simmons University faculty
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty