Edna Isabel Allyn (April 5, 1861 – June 7, 1927) was the first librarian of the

Hawaii State Library The Hawaii State Library is a historic building in Honolulu, Hawaii, that serves as the seat of the Hawaii State Public Library System, the only statewide library system and one of the largest in the United States. The Hawaii State Library buil ...

Early life and education

Allyn was born on April 15, 1861, in

Wellington, Ohio Wellington is a village (United States)#Ohio, village in Lorain County, Ohio, Lorain County, Ohio. The population was 4,799 at the time of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. History Some say the village was named after William Welling, a ...

. Allyn graduated from

Hiram College Hiram College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Hiram, Ohio. It was founded in 1850 as the Western Reserve Eclectic Institute by Amos Sutton Hayden and other members of the Disciples of Christ Church. The college is nonsectarian and coe ...

in 1882 and became a public

schoolteacher A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. wh ...

. She then earned a master's degree in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

from

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 ...

in 1902. After working in the Iowa State Industrial School's library, Allyn decided to study

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 ...

Western Reserve University Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

in 1905. After completing her education, she became the librarian of the Brooklyn sub-branch of the

Cleveland Public Library Cleveland Public Library, located in Cleveland, Ohio, operates the Main Library on Superior Avenue in downtown Cleveland, 27 branches throughout the city, a mobile library, a Public Administration Library in City Hall, and the Ohio Library for the ...

Hawaii

Allyn became the librarian of the Honolulu Library and Reading Room Association, a

subscription library A subscription library (also membership library or independent library) is a library that is financed by private funds either from membership fees or endowments. Unlike a public library, access is often restricted to members, but access rights c ...

, in 1907. When the Hawaii State Library was built in 1913, the Honolulu Library and Reading Room Association's collections formed the base of the new library's collection, so Allyn became the head librarian there. During her tenure as librarian, Allyn changed the library from a subscription-based to a free public library, and expanded it to 350,000 books. In 1921, Allyn worked with the territorial government to create county libraries on each island. This became the foundation of the

Hawaii State Library System The Hawaii State Public Library System (HSPLS) is the only statewide public library system in the United States. The system has 51 libraries on all the major Hawaiian Islands: Big Island of Hawaii, Kauai, Lānai, Maui, Molokai and Oahu. ...

. What Allyn was especially known for was her commitment to working with children. She invited specialists from the mainland to give lectures and training sessions on

storytelling Storytelling is the social and cultural activity of sharing stories, sometimes with improvisation, theatrics or embellishment. Every culture has its own stories or narratives, which are shared as a means of entertainment, education, cultural pre ...

and

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. Modern children's literature is classified in two different ways: genre or the intended age of the reader. Children's ...

. Allyn also worked with local schools, including offering courses for teachers as a Department of Public Instruction program in 1919 and 1920. The children's room at the Hawaii State Library was created according to her plans, and was named after her when it was completed after her death. She died on June 7, 1927.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Allyn, Edna Isabel 1861 births 1927 deaths American librarians American women librarians People from Wellington, Ohio Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Case Western Reserve University alumni People from Honolulu