Mary Johanna Louisa Black (1879-1939) was a Canadian librarian and suffragist. Black was the president of 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 ...
from 1917 to 1918 and was a member 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 ...
.
Early life
Mary Johanna Louisa Black was born on April 1, 1879 in
Uxbridge
Uxbridge () is a suburban town in west London and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Hillingdon. Situated west-northwest of Charing Cross, it is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. Uxb ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...
to parents Fergus Black and Georgina Elizabeth Macdonald. Mary had four brothers. In September 1907, several years after the death of her mother, Mary and her father relocated to
Fort William, Ontario to live with Mary's brother, Davidson William.
Career
Despite her lack of formal education, Black was appointed Chief Librarian of the
Fort William Public Library in 1909. She was the first librarian there. When Black began working at the library, it was a single room in the City Hall basement. In 1912, with funding from the Carnegie Family, the Fort William Public Library opened the Carnegie Library, since renamed the Brodie Resource Library.
As part of her work as Chief Librarian, Black organized the first mobile library collections in Ontario and was a proponent the rights of rural citizens to access public libraries.
In 1913, Black became a councillor of 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 ...
.
Black later served as president of the Ontario Library Association from 1917 to 1918.
She was the first woman to be appointed to that position.
In 1918, Black was elected a school trustee. She was re-elected to the same position in 1920. Black supported
Robert James Manion
Robert James Manion (November 19, 1881 – July 2, 1943) was a Canadian politician who led the Conservative Party of Canada from 1938 to 1940. Prior to his leadership of the party, he served in Prime Minister Arthur Meighen and R.B. Benn ...
across party lines when he sough federal election in 1917 as a
Unionist and in 1921 when Manion ran as a
conservative
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
.
Black was a member 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 ...
, which, at the time, represented both Canadian and American libraries. She held several positions there including being a member of the extension board, being the chair of the Small Libraries Round Table, and being the chair of the lending section.
From 1918 to 1932, Black was actively involved with the Thunder Bay Historical Society. Her involvement included serving as secretary-treasurer and maintaining the archives. Black was the society's president from 1928 to 1932.
Black, John Ridington, and
George H. Locke were hired by the
Carnegie corporation
The Carnegie Corporation of New York is a philanthropic fund established by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to support education programs across the United States, and later the world. Carnegie Corporation has endowed or otherwise helped to establis ...
to form a commission of inquiry into the conditions of Canadian public libraries. Black toured Canada with her fellow commissioners, beginning in 1930, to investigate the libraries across the country. The commission concluded in 1933 with the publication of ''Libraries in Canada: A Study of Library Conditions and Needs''.
Black, along with Dr. Clara Todson and Anne J. Barrie, co-led the
women's suffrage
Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...
and reform movement in the twin cities of
Port Arthur and Fort William, which were later almagameted into
Thunder Bay
Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its population i ...
. From 1916 to 1918, Black was the president of the Fort William branch of the Women's Canadian Club which she also founded.
Black was also a member of the West Algoma Equal Suffrage Association and the Women's Business Club, the latter of which she was the president of in 1921.
Black was also the district commissioner for the
Girl Guides of Canada
Girl Guides of Canada (GGC; french: Guides du Canada) is the national Guiding association of Canada. Guiding in Canada started on September 7, 1910, and GGC was among the founding members of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (W ...
.
Black was forced to retire from the Fort William Library in the spring of 1937 due to illness.
Death and legacy
Due to her ill health, in late 1938, Black relocated to
Vancouver
Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
to stay with her brother, Norman F. Black. She died in Vancouver on January 4, 1939.
In 1938, a branch of the
Thunder Bay Public Library
The Thunder Bay Public Library serves the citizens of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and surrounding areas.
Services
*Information and reference services
*Access to full text databases
*Community information
*Internet access
*Reader's advisor ...
in Thunder Bay, Ontario was dedicated the Mary J. L. Black Library.
The Mary J. L. Black Library was renovated in 2010 with estimated costs around four million dollars.
In 2018, the Ontario Library Association posthumously recognized Black's achievements with a plaque at the Thunder Bay Public Library.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Mary J. L.
Canadian librarians
American women librarians
People from Uxbridge, Ontario
Canadian suffragists
Scouting and Guiding in Canada
American Library Association people
1879 births
1939 deaths
Canadian women librarians