Martha Boaz (27 October 1911– 24 July 1995) was an American librarian. She earned a B.S. 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 ...

in 1937 from

George Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee. ...

. She was the assistant librarian at Carrier Library, then known as Madison Memorial Library, from 1940 to 1949. The library was at James Madison University, then known as Madison College. She received her master's degree in library science in 1950 and her PhD in library science in 1955, both from the

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 ...

. She was the first woman and the third person to earn a PhD in library science from the University of Michigan. She was the dean of the

University of Southern California The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...

School of Library Science from 1955 to 1978, its longest-serving dean as of 2005, and some of her records are held at the University Archives of the

. She also served as president of the

California Library Association The California Library Association (CLA) is a body of librarians that represents and promotes the interests of librarians and library sciences in the state of California. The association is managed by a board of directors, consisting of 15 members ...

from 1962 to 1963, chair of its Research Committee from 1958 to 1960, chair of its Intellectual Freedom Committee from 1964 to 1966, president of its Library Education Division from 1968 to 1969, on its board of directors in 1972, and as its chair of the Council of Deans from 1977 to 1978.

Honors

Boaz received the

Beta Phi Mu Award The Beta Phi Mu Award is an annual prize recognizing an individual for distinguished service to education for librarianship. First bestowed in 1954, Award recipients include various prominent leaders in the field of librarianship. The Award is spo ...

in 1974. The reference room of James Madison University's Carrier Library is named in her honor.

References

1911 births 1995 deaths American librarians American women librarians University of Michigan School of Information alumni 20th-century American women {{Library-bio-stub