Spencer Gilbert Shaw (August 15, 1916 – June 16, 2010) was an American
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 ...
and educator specializing in library services to children. He taught at the
Information School
An information school (sometimes abbreviated I-school or iSchool) is a university-level institution committed to understanding the role of information in nature and human endeavors. Synonyms include school of information, department of informati ...
of the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
(1970–1986) and served as president of the
Association for Library Services to Children (1975–1976).
Early life and education
Shaw was born in
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since t ...
,
Connecticut
Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...
, on August 15, 1916, to parents Martha Taylor Shaw and Eugene Shaw. His father worked at the Hartford National Bank & Trust Company, while his mother was a homemaker and community organizer who supervised the desegregation of the workforce of
G. Fox & Co. during the 1940s.
Raised in a predominantly Jewish neighborhood of northwest Hartford, Shaw was the only
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
student in his primary and secondary schools.
He earned a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University o ...
degree from
Hampton University in 1940, a
Bachelor of Library Science
The bachelor of library science (or “bachelor of library and information science”) is a degree sometimes awarded to students majoring in library science. It is commonly abbreviated as “B.L.S.”, “B.Lib.”, or “B.L.I.S.”, often with ...
from the
University of Wisconsin–Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...
in 1941, and completed advanced graduate studies at the
University of Chicago Graduate Library School The University of Chicago Graduate Library School (GLS) was established in 1928 to develop a program for the graduate education of librarians with a focus on research. Housed for a time in the Joseph Regenstein Library, the GLS closed in 1989. GLS ...
in 1949.
He served in the US Army during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...
, enlisting in 1943 and serving at
Fort Devens, Massachusetts
Fort Devens is a United States Army Reserve military installation in the towns of Ayer and Shirley, in Middlesex County and Harvard in Worcester County in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. Due to extensive environmental contamination it was li ...
. Sent to officer training school, he served as a second lieutenant for the rest of the war.
Library career
Shaw started his career as branch manager of the Upper Albany Branch of the
Hartford Public Library
The Hartford Public Library serves the city of Hartford, Connecticut, United States. The library's main branch is located at 500 Main Street in downtown Hartford. The nine branch locations are named Albany, Barbour, Blue Hills, Camp Field, Dw ...
from 1941 to 1949. He was the first African American librarian hired by the library system.
From 1949 to 1959 he was program specialist in children's services at
Brooklyn Public Library, where he built a national reputation for his
storytelling and programming. In 1959, Shaw became consultant in library service to children in the
Nassau County Public Library System, supervising children's services across 52 branches. From 1961 to 1968 he wrote and narrated a
WHLI
WHLI (1100 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Hempstead, New York, and serving Long Island. It is owned by Connoisseur Media and has an oldies radio format made up of hits from the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s.
The station's studios a ...
weekly radio program, ''Story Hour on the Air.'' He was a visiting instructor at library schools nationwide, including
Queens College, the
University of Maryland
The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...
,
Drexel University,
University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa
The University of Hawaii at Mānoa (University of Hawaii—Mānoa, UH Mānoa, Hawai'i, or simply UH) is a public land-grant research university in Mānoa, a neighborhood in Honolulu, Hawaii. It is the flagship campus of the University of Haw ...
,
University of North Texas
The University of North Texas (UNT) is a public research university in Denton, Texas. It was founded as a nonsectarian, coeducational, private teachers college in 1890 and was formally adopted by the state 11 years later."Denton Normal School, ...
,
Syracuse University,
University of North Carolina at Greensboro
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. UNCG, like all members of the UNC system, is a stand- ...
,
University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univer ...
, and
Kent State University
Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...
.
In 1970, he became a lecturer at the
Information School
An information school (sometimes abbreviated I-school or iSchool) is a university-level institution committed to understanding the role of information in nature and human endeavors. Synonyms include school of information, department of informati ...
of the
University of Washington
The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington.
Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattl ...
and received promotions to associate professor in 1971 and professor in 1977. He retired in 1986 with the rank of professor emeritus. The University of Washington established the Spencer G. Shaw Children's Literature Lecture Series in his honor. Shaw delivered lectures and held teaching residencies in Australia, Brazil, Cyprus, England, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.
He served as president of the
Association for Library Service to Children
The Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) is a division of the American Library Association, and it is the world's largest organization dedicated to library service to children. Its members are concerned with creating a better future ...
in 1975–76, delegate to the 1970
White House Conference on Children, chair of the
Caldecott Medal
The Randolph Caldecott Medal, frequently shortened to just the Caldecott, annually recognizes the preceding year's "most distinguished American picture book for children". It is awarded to the illustrator by the Association for Library Servic ...
committee, and board member of
Connecticut College
Connecticut College (Conn College or Conn) is a private liberal arts college in New London, Connecticut. It is a residential, four-year undergraduate institution with nearly all of its approximately 1,815 students living on campus. The college w ...
's Connecticut Storytelling Center.
Following retirement in 1986, Shaw returned to Connecticut and lived in
Bloomfield until his death. At the invitation of Upper Albany branch manager
Tracie D. Hall, a former student from the University of Washington, he volunteered as a storyteller at the Hartford Public Library in his late 80s.
Shaw died at
John Dempsey Hospital in
Farmington
Farmington may refer to:
Places Canada
*Farmington, British Columbia
* Farmington, Nova Scotia (disambiguation)
United States
*Farmington, Arkansas
*Farmington, California
*Farmington, Connecticut
*Farmington, Delaware
* Farmington, Georgia
* ...
on June 16, 2010, at the age of 93. One of seven siblings, he was survived by his brother John Shaw, his sisters Lucille Laury and Lucretia Jackson, and several nieces and nephews.
He never married and had no children.
Awards and honors
Shaw received numerous awards and honors throughout his life. He received an honorary doctorate of literature from the University of Wisconsin in 1992.
Among many other recognitions, Shaw received a
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 ...
Fellowship for Graduate Study in Librarianship in 1940, the Grolier Foundation Award from 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 ...
(ALA) in 1983, an honorary lifetime membership in ALA in 1988, the Distinguished Service Award from the Association of Library Services to Children in 1998, distinguished alumnus awards from Hampton University and the University of Wisconsin, the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Connecticut Affiliate of the
Black Caucus of the American Library Association
The Black Caucus of the American Library Association (BCALA) is an affiliate of the American Library Association (ALA) that focuses on the needs of African American library professionals by promoting careers in librarianship, funding literacy in ...
, the President's Award from the
Washington Library Association
The Washington Library Association (WLA) is a professional organization for librarians and library workers in the U.S. state of Washington. It is headquartered in Seattle and has 1,504 individual members and 49 institution members .
WLA was fou ...
, and the Nancy Blankenship Pryor Award from the Washington State Commission for the Humanities and the
Washington State Library
The Washington State Library is a government agency that operates public libraries in Washington state's prisons and mental hospitals, and maintains collections related to the state government. Based in Tumwater, it is a service of the Washingto ...
.
References
External links
Finding aid to the Spencer G. Shaw Papers- University of Washington Special Collections
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Spencer Gilbert
1916 births
2010 deaths
American librarians
African-American librarians
Hampton University alumni
University of Washington faculty
University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Library and Information Studies alumni
University of Chicago Graduate Library School alumni
African Americans in World War II
Educators from Hartford, Connecticut
United States Army personnel of World War II
United States Army officers
21st-century African-American people
African-American United States Army personnel