Mary Wright Plummer (March 8, 1856 in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County and is part of the Dayton, OH Metropolitan Statistical Area In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 36,812. Situa ...

– September 21, 1916 in

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city and the county seat of Lee County, Illinois, United States. The population was 15,733 as of the 2010 census, down from 15,941 in 2000. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the R ...

) was an American librarian who became the second female president 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 ...

(1915–1916).

Biography

Mary Wright Plummer was born in Richmond, Indiana to Quaker parents and attended the

Friends Academy Friends Academy is a Quaker, coeducational, independent, college preparatory school serving students from nursery school through the twelfth grade, located in Locust Valley, New York, United States. The school was founded in 1876 by 78-year-old ...

. When 17, she moved with her family to Chicago. From 1881 to 1882 she studied at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a private women's liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henry and Pauline Durant as a female seminary, it is a member of the original Seven Sisters Colleges, an unofficial g ...

. 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 ...

she entered the first class taught by

Melvil Dewey Melville Louis Kossuth "Melvil" Dewey (December 10, 1851 – December 26, 1931) was an influential American librarian and educator, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification, a founder of the Lake Placid Club, and a chief lib ...

at the School of Library Economy in January 1887. She completed the program in 1888 and served as a cataloger for two years at the

Saint Louis Public Library The St. Louis Public Library is a municipal public library system in the city of St. Louis, Missouri. It operates sixteen locations, including the main Central Library location. History In 1865, Ira Divoll, the superintendent of the St. Louis P ...

. In 1890, she came to the Pratt Institute Free Library to help administer the library and begin a course for training new librarians. The course led to the creation of a

library school Education for librarianship, including for paraprofessional library workers, varies around the world, and has changed over time. In recent decades, many institutions offering librarianship education have changed their names to reflect the shift from ...

which Plummer headed beginning in 1895—the same year she became head of the library. Her publications include a collection of poetry (e.g., ''Verses''), several children's books (e.g., ''Stories from the Chronicle of the Cid''), and books on the profession of librarianship (e.g., ''Hints to Small Libraries'' and ''Training for Librarianship''). Plummer held leadership roles in the library profession at a time when it was unusual for women to lead. She was the second female president of the

during 1915–1916. She served as vice president from 1900 to 1911. She also served as the president of the New York State Library Association, the New York Library Club, and the Long Island Library Club. Plummer is credited with originating the idea of ethics for the library profession, which she spoke about in an address for the Illinois Library Association titled "The Pros and Cons of Librarianship".

Works

''Hints to Small Libraries''
Brooklyn, NY: Pratt Institute Free Library, 1894.
''Roy and Ray in Mexico''
New York, NY: H.Holt, 1907.
''The Seven Joys of Reading''
White Plains, N.Y.: H.W. Wilson, 1916.
''Training for Librarianship''
with Frank Keller Walter, Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1923.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plummer, Mary Wright 1856 births 1916 deaths Presidents of the American Library Association People from Richmond, Indiana Wellesley College alumni Columbia University School of Library Service alumni American librarians American women librarians American women writers