Julia Bedford Ideson (1880–1945) was the first head

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time, ...

of the

Houston Public Library Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. History Houston Lyceum and the Carnegie Library The Houston Public Library system traces its founding to the creation of the second Houston Lyceum in 18 ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. She served in her role for forty-years, serving as a leader in the library science profession and many community activities in Houston. She was a proponent of professional opportunities for women and was the leader of a primarily-female library staff. The

Julia Ideson Building The Julia Ideson Building is a Houston Public Library facility in Downtown Houston, Texas, United States. It is named for Julia Bedford Ideson, who served as the system's first head librarian for 40 years. The Spanish Renaissance-style buil ...

, currently owned by the Houston Public Library, was named in her honor. Ideson was born on July 15, 1880, in

Hastings, Nebraska Hastings is a List of cities in Nebraska, city and the county seat of Adams County, Nebraska, Adams County, Nebraska, United States. The population was 25,152 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is known as the town where Kool-Aid ...

, to parents John and Rose Ideson. John Ideson owned a bookstore in Hastings until the family relocated to Houston when Julia was 12. She later graduated from Houston High School in 1899, going on to enroll at the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

. Though she had intended to become a teacher, she changed to the new course offering in

library science Library science (often termed library studies, bibliothecography, and library economy) is an interdisciplinary or multidisciplinary field that applies the practices, perspectives, and tools of management, information technology, education, and ...

during her second year. Ideson was involved in many political and social issues. In February 1919, she traveled to France to manage a library established there for American soldiers. Ideson was one of the creators of the Houston Open Forum, which brought invited speakers together with Houston residents to discuss controversial topics. The Forum ran for over 10 years, from 1926 through 1938. In 1938, Ideson served on a committee to evaluate Houston's charter.

References

External links

Julia Bedford Ideson
Texas State Historical Association Handbook of Texas

Houston Metropolitan Research Center {{DEFAULTSORT:Ideson, Julia People from Houston People from Hastings, Nebraska 1880 births 1945 deaths American librarians American women librarians