Sabra Wilbur Vought (May 23, 1877 – March 2, 1942) was an American academic librarian and federal official. Beginning in 1937, she was librarian for the

Department of the Interior The United States Department of the Interior (DOI) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the management and conservation of most federal lands and natural resources. It also administers programs relatin ...

, covering library services for the

Office of Education The Office of Education, at times known as the Department of Education and the Bureau of Education, was a small unit in the Federal Government of the United States within the U.S. Department of the Interior from 1867 to 1972. It is now separa ...

as well as the Bureau of Mines, the Office of Indian Affairs, and the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an List of federal agencies in the United States, agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, within the US Department of the Interior. The service manages all List ...

Early life and education

Vought as born in

Towanda, Pennsylvania Towanda is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in, and the county seat of, Bradford County, Pennsylvania, Bradford County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. It is part of Northeastern Pennsylvania and is located northwest of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylv ...

, the daughter of Frank M. Vought and Adella (or Almeda) M. Wilbur Vought. She was raised in

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamesto ...

, and graduated from

Allegheny College Allegheny College is a private liberal arts college in Meadville, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1815, Allegheny is the oldest college in continuous existence under the same name west of the Allegheny Mountains. It is a member of the G ...

in 1899. She trained as a librarian at the

New York State Library School The New York State Library School was a school of library science. Melvil Dewey established the school at Columbia University. Many of the school's records are currently held at Columbia University. In 1889, it was moved to Albany, New York to bec ...

, earning a second bachelor's degree in 1901, in library science.

Career

Vought was an academic and government librarian, with positions at the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee, Knoxville (or The University of Tennessee; UT; UT Knoxville; or colloquially UTK or Tennessee) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee, United St ...

(1901 to 1910), the Ohio Library Commission, Allegheny College, the

State University of New York The State University of New York (SUNY ) is a system of Public education, public colleges and universities in the New York (state), State of New York. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, larges ...

(1919-1924), and

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

(1924 to 1930). In 1904 and 1905, she taught at the Summer School for Librarians in

Winona Lake, Indiana Winona Lake is a town in Wayne Township, Kosciusko County, in the U.S. state of Indiana, and the major suburb of Warsaw. Its population was 4,908 at the 2010 census. Geography Winona Lake is now contiguous to Warsaw, the two towns having merged ...

. In 1906 she began teaching at the Summer Library School in

Chautauqua, New York Chautauqua ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town and lake resort community in Chautauqua County, New York, Chautauqua County, New York (state), New York. The population was 4,009 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Cha ...

. She also taught at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

, and at the Library Service School in

Riverside, California Riverside is a city in and the county seat of Riverside County, California, United States. It is named for its location beside the Santa Ana River. As of the 2020 census, the city has a population of 314,998. It is the most populous city in th ...

. In 1930, Vought was appointed director of library service for the United States Office of Education, federal liaison to 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 ...

and administrator of "a technical library of over 125,000 volumes". She also wrote a monthly column for the Office of Education's publication, ''School Life.'' In 1937 she became librarian for the Department of the Interior, covering library services for the Office of Education as well as the Bureau of Mines, the Office of Indian Affairs, and the National Park Service. Vought was an active member of the District of Columbia Library Association, the

Daughters of the American Revolution The National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (often abbreviated as DAR or NSDAR) is a lineage-based membership service organization for women who are directly descended from a patriot of the American Revolutionary War. A non-p ...

(DAR),

Altrusa International Altrusa International, Inc (Altrusa) is an international non-profit organization focused on community service. It was founded in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1917 by Dr. Alfred Durham as a chain of national clubs for business and professional women. H ...

, the

American Association of University Women The American Association of University Women (AAUW), officially founded in 1881, is a non-profit organization that advances Justice, equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research. The organization has a nationwide Social net ...

(AAUW),

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, and the

National Education Association The National Education Association (NEA) is the largest labor union in the United States. It represents public school teachers and other support personnel, faculty and staffers at colleges and universities, retired educators, and college st ...

Publications

* ''Use of Periodicals'' (1911) * "Training the School Librarian" (1922) * "The Development of the School Library" (1923) * ''Library Service'' (1931, with Edith Anna Lathrop) * "The Library of the Federal Office of Education" (1934) * "The Office of Education Library", "College Catalog Collection", and "Special Collections in the Library" (1937)

Personal life

Vought was close to her cousins in California. She died in 1942, in Washington, D.C., aged 64 years. There is a small collection of her papers at the University at Albany, State University of New York.Sabra W. Vought Papers, 1924
M.E. Grenander Department of Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University at Albany, State University of New York

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vought, Sabra Wilbur 1877 births 1942 deaths Librarians from Pennsylvania People from Towanda, Pennsylvania New York State Library School alumni Allegheny College alumni