Allie Beth Martin (née Dent; June 28, 1914 – April 11, 1976) was an American

librarian A librarian is a person who professionally works managing information. Librarians' common activities include providing access to information, conducting research, creating and managing information systems, creating, leading, and evaluating educat ...

educator 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. w ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and

author In legal discourse, an author is the creator of an original work that has been published, whether that work exists in written, graphic, visual, or recorded form. The act of creating such a work is referred to as authorship. Therefore, a sculpt ...

. In 1990, she was named one of the 100 most influential people in the field of

library science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

by ''

American Libraries ''American Libraries'' is the flagship magazine of the American Library Association (ALA). About ''American Libraries'' was first published in 1970 as a continuation of the long-running ''ALA Bulletin,'' which had served as the Association’ ...

''.Wedgeworth, R. (Ed.) (1980). ALA World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services. Chicago: American Library Association. p 346 She was the first director of the

Tulsa City-County Library The Tulsa City-County Library (TCCL) is the major public library system in Tulsa County, Oklahoma. Overview The library system serves those who live, work, go to school in, own land in, or pay property taxes on land in Tulsa County. There are 24 ...

, from 1963 until her death, and was known for her ground-breaking library improvement programs.

Early life

Martin was born in Annieville,

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

, on June 28, 1914, to Carleton Gayle Dent and Ethel (McCaleb) Dent. After graduating from high school in 1932, she went on to earn several degrees. She earned a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

in foreign languages & English from Arkansas College in 1935 and a B.S. in

Library Science Library and information science (LIS)Library and Information Sciences is the name used in the Dewey Decimal Classification for class 20 from the 18th edition (1971) to the 22nd edition (2003). are two interconnected disciplines that deal with info ...

in 1939 from

Peabody College Vanderbilt Peabody College of Education and Human Development (also known as Vanderbilt Peabody College, Peabody College, or simply Peabody) is the education school of Vanderbilt University, a private research university in Nashville, Tennessee ...

. She later earned an M.S. in Library Science in 1949 from the

Columbia University School of Library Service The Columbia University School of Library Service was a school dedicated to education for librarianship that was part of Columbia University in New York City. It was founded by Melvil Dewey and began operation in 1887 as the Columbia College Schoo ...

.The ALA Yearbook, 1976 (Centennial Edition ed. Vol. 1976). (1976). Chicago: American Library Association. p. vi She married Ralph F. Martin, a journalist, on October 6, 1937.

Career

Martin began working in a junior college in

Little Rock, Arkansas Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

. She joined the Arkansas Library Commission as an assistant to the executive secretary. She started working at the Tulsa Library in 1949 and became the director of the Tulsa City-County Library in 1963. Later she elected president of committee in 1945 and president of the ALA in 1975. She died in Tulsa on April 11, 1976.

Programs

Funded by the

National Endowment for the Humanities The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency of the U.S. government, established by thNational Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act of 1965(), dedicated to supporting research, education, preserv ...

and the

Council on Library Resources The Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) is an American independent, nonprofit organization. It works with libraries, cultural institutions, and higher learning communities on developing strategies to improve research, teaching, an ...

in 1972, Allie Beth Martin prepared a report on whether the library meets the needs of its patrons. The report,''The ALA Yearbook, 1976'' (Centennial Edition ed. Vol. 1976). (1976). Chicago: American Library Association. p. 284 outlined steps that libraries should take in order to transition into the 21st Century and keep up with library's changing roles in society. After doing the preliminary study, Martin wrote the book, ''A Strategy for Public Library Change'', which sparked a movement of library improvement programs all across the country.

Legacy and honors

* She was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Humanities Degree from University of Tulsa. * The Tulsa Regional Library was named after her as well a lecture series and a national library award. * In 1976 she was awarded

American Library Association Honorary Membership Honorary Membership conferred by the American Library Association is the Association's highest award. "Honorary membership may be conferred on a living citizen of any country whose contribution to librarianship or a closely related field is so outs ...

. * The Allie Beth Martin Award has been presented annually since 1979 by the

Public Library Association The Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association, is a professional association of public librarians and supporters dedicated to the "development and effectiveness of public library staff and public library ser ...

References

External links

Oklahoma State Library Legends
{{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Allie Beth Library science scholars People from Lawrence County, Arkansas 1914 births 1976 deaths Presidents of the American Library Association Lyon College alumni Columbia University School of Library Service alumni Peabody College alumni Librarians from Arkansas 20th-century American librarians Writers from Tulsa, Oklahoma 20th-century American women librarians