Azariah Smith Root (February 3, 1862 – October 2, 1927) was an American librarian and educator. Root earned both bachelor's and master's degrees from

Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1833, it is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational lib ...

in 1884 and 1887 respectively. He went on to study law at

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

from 1884 to 1885 and at

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

from 1886 to 1887. Later, Root studied library science and bibliography at the

University of Göttingen The University of Göttingen, officially the Georg August University of Göttingen (, commonly referred to as Georgia Augusta), is a Public university, public research university in the city of Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany. Founded in 1734 ...

from 1888 to 1889. Root returned to Oberlin College in 1890 as the library director and a professor of bibliography, positions he would hold until his death. During his tenure at Oberlin, Root became the premier spokesperson for college librarianship during his era. He led the growth of Oberlin's collection through gifts and exchange programs and by 1924 had established Oberlin's library as the largest college library in the nation. Root was also a leader in the library profession. He was a founding member of the American Library Association's College Library Section in 1899 (precursor of the

Association of College and Research Libraries The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes library, libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world. History 19th ...

) and a founding member of the

Bibliographical Society of America The Bibliographical Society of America (BSA) is a North American organization that fosters the study of books and manuscripts. It was constituted from the earlier Bibliographical Society of Chicago (created in 1899) as the national membership began ...

. He was president of the Ohio Library Association from 1900 to 1901 and again from 1914 to 1915. He was 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. History 19th century ...

from 1921 to 1922. Root was the first secretary of the Hayes Historical Society from 1925 to 1927, and he collaborated with Webb C. Hayes in establishing the Rutherford B. Hayes Memorial Library. Root taught at

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 ...

from 1904 to 1927 and served as acting principal of the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

School from 1916 to 1917. He also oversaw the American Correspondence School of Librarianship from 1923 to 1927.

Bibliography

''The Library School of the Future''
American Library Association, Volume 11 (July 1, 1917)
Round Table of Training Class Teachers
''Bulletin of the American Library Association'', Volume 12 (September 1, 1918)
President's Address
''Bulletin of the American Library Association'', Volume 16 (July 1, 1922)

References

1862 births 1927 deaths Librarians from Ohio Presidents of the American Library Association Oberlin College alumni Presidents of the Bibliographical Society of America {{Library-bio-stub

Bibliography

See also

References