Rutherford Platt Hayes (June 24, 1858 – July 31, 1927) was an American librarian. Hayes was the third son of

Rutherford B. Hayes Rutherford Birchard Hayes (; October 4, 1822 – January 17, 1893) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 19th president of the United States from 1877 to 1881, after serving in the U.S. House of Representatives and as governo ...

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...

from 1877 to 1881. He attended Michigan State University and

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to tea ...

, where he was a member of

Delta Kappa Epsilon Delta Kappa Epsilon (), commonly known as ''DKE'' or ''Deke'', is one of the oldest fraternities in the United States, with fifty-six active chapters and five active colonies across North America. It was founded at Yale College in 1844 by fiftee ...

, graduating in 1880. He also attended the Boston Institute of Technology. Hayes returned to his family's home in

Fremont, Ohio Fremont is a city in and the county seat of Sandusky County, Ohio, United States, located along the banks of the Sandusky River. It is about 35 miles from Toledo and 25 miles from Sandusky. It is part of the Toledo metropolitan area. The populat ...

in 1882 and went to work for the Fremont Savings Bank. Soon after he returned to Fremont, Hayes became a Trustee of the Birchard Library which was founded by his granduncle, Sardis Birchard. He introduced several progressive ideas to its management, including the introduction of a children's area and sending boxes of books to neighboring towns (similar to today's bookmobiles). He published the library's catalog as installments in a local paper. He was one of the founders of the Ohio Library Association in 1895 and advocated for a bill in the legislature to appoint a state library commission. Hayes was appointed to the Ohio Library Commission in 1896. Hayes left Ohio for

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, where he worked on library issues and developed a traveling library. He moved to Asheville, North Carolina, where he acquired large holdings of land. He worked with Asheville resident Edward W. Pearson, an African-American entrepreneur, to develop new African-American residential neighborhoods in West Asheville. In North Carolina, Hayes engaged in scientific farming on a large scale. Hayes was President of the Appalachian Forest Reserve and the western North Carolina Fair. He moved to Clearwater, Florida, in 1922. In Florida, he served as chairman of the board of directors of the Clearwater Savings and Loan Association and the First Mortgage Investment Company. Throughout his life he maintained his interest in library matters, promoting those of Asheville and Clearwater, and retaining his membership on the board of trustees of the library in Fremont, Ohio. He served as secretary 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 ...

and also served as vice president and acting president from October 1897 through January 1898. Hayes died on July 31, 1927, in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, of carcinoma of the prostate gland.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hayes, Rutherford Platt American librarians Presidents of the American Library Association Cornell University alumni Michigan State University alumni 1858 births 1927 deaths People from Cincinnati People from Fremont, Ohio Children of presidents of the United States Hayes family

See also

References