Edith Allen Phelps (February 10, 1866 - July 2, 1945) was the first professional in the Library Science field in the Oklahoma City system. She served twice as president of the

Oklahoma Library Association The Oklahoma Library Association (OLA) is a non-profit organization that promotes libraries and library services and provides professional development for library personnel in the state of Oklahoma. OLA is a chapter of both the American Library As ...

Early life

Edith Allen Phelps was born in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the third largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Springfield metropolitan area, which had an estimat ...

, on February 10, 1866, the daughter of Col. John Elisha Phelps (1839-1921) and Margaret Jane White (1846-1915), a prominent family descended from Ethan Allen. She had two siblings: Lucy Phelps (1869-1895) and John Smith Phelps (1872-1947). Phelps attended Drexel University and trained 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 ...

in Library Science.

Career

Phelps was the librarian at Paso Robles Public Library. For four years she was connected with the Library of the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou, MU, or Missouri) is a public land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus University of Missouri System. MU was founded in ...

; for 12 years (from 1904 to 1916) she was the librarian at the Carnegie Library in Guthrie, Oklahoma and here taught Library Science course for the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

. For two years she was the librarian at

Tyler, Texas Tyler is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the largest city and county seat of Smith County, Texas, Smith County. It is also the largest city in Northeast Texas. With a 2020 census population of 105,995, Tyler was the List of cities in Texa ...

, and in 1919 she was the Public Library Cataloguer in

Kansas City Public Library The Kansas City Public Library is a public system headquartered in the Central Library in Kansas City, Missouri. The system operates its Central Library and neighborhood branches located in Kansas City, Independence, and Sugar Creek. Founde ...

. Phelps was president of the

from 1911 through 1913, serving two terms. In 1905 she started at Carnegie Library as Head Librarian, the first professional in the Library Science field in the Oklahoma City system. Among many innovations, she is recognized for having introduced the Dewey classification. She was a charter member of the

Special Libraries Association The Special Libraries Association (SLA) is an international professional association for library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions. History The S ...

and a member of Paso Robles Woman's Club,

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 ...

, California Library Association, Daughters of the American Revolution, P.E.O. Sisterhood, Colonial Dames of America.

Personal life

In 1916 Edith Allen Phelps resigned from her position at the Oklahoma Library Association in protest at the library board and, after brief periods in Texas and Kansas libraries, accepted a position at the public library in San Luis Obispo, California. She lived at

Paso Robles, California Paso Robles ( ), officially El Paso de Robles (Spanish for "The Pass of Oaks"), is a city in San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Salinas River approximately north of San Luis Obispo, the city is known for its hot ...

. She died on July 2, 1945, and is buried at San Miguel District Cemetery, San Miguel, California.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Phelps, Edith Allen 1866 births 1945 deaths American librarians American women librarians Colonial Dames of America Daughters of the American Revolution people Drexel University alumni Columbia University School of Library Service alumni People from Springfield, Missouri