Dorothy M. Broderick (June 23, 1929 – December 17, 2011) was an American writer, college professor, editor, and "a legend of YA librarianship".Flowers, Sarah
"In Memoriam: Dorothy Broderick"
''YALSA Blog (December 19, 2011).'' She was co-founder and editor of '' VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates'', a professional magazine for librarians concerned with services for children and youth.

Early life and education

Broderick was born in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

, the daughter of Mary L. Broderick. She graduated from New Haven State Teachers College in 1953, and earned a master's in library science (MLS) from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1956. She completed a doctorate in library science (DLS) in 1971. Her dissertation advisor was Frances E. Henne.

Career

Broderick was a librarian in

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...

, and

Hicksville, New York Hicksville is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the Town of Oyster Bay in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The CDP's population was 43,869 at the time of the 2020 census. History Hamlet namesake Valen ...

, as a young woman, and 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 ...

and the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

after she earned her DLS. She was the children's library consultant for the

New York State Library The New York State Library is a research library in Albany, New York, United States. It was established in 1818 to serve the state government of New York and is part of the New York State Education Department. The library is one of the large ...

. She taught

children's literature Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

Dalhousie University Dalhousie University (commonly known as Dal) is a large public research university in Nova Scotia, Canada, with three campuses in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Halifax, a fourth in Bible Hill, Nova Scotia, Bible Hill, and a second medical school campus ...

beginning in 1972. In 1977, she organized the first science fiction fan convention in Nova Scotia. Broderick was an active member 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 ...

and of

YALSA The Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA), established in 1957, is a division of the American Library Association. YALSA is a national association of librarians, library workers and advocates whose mission is to expand the capacity of l ...

. Broderick spoke and wrote often on censorship issues, and on the evolving nature of public libraries, especially for younger patrons. "It is not enough just to have beautiful buildings," she said in her keynote address to the annual conference of the Arizona State Library Association in 1967.

Publications

Scholarship

In addition to her books, and articles in scholarly journals such as ''The Bookmark,'' ''Leisure'', ''Instructor'', ''Drexel Library Quarterly'', ''School Library Media Annual'', and ''Publishing Research Quarterly'', Broderick frequently wrote short opinion items for ''

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’ ...

,'' ''

School Library Journal ''School Library Journal'' (''SLJ'') is an American monthly magazine containing reviews and other articles for school librarians, media specialists, and public librarians who work with young people. Articles cover a wide variety of topics, wi ...

'', ''Wilson Library Bulletin'', ''Collection Building'', '' The Phi Delta Kappan,'' and ''

Library Journal ''Library Journal'' is an American trade publication for librarians. It was founded in 1876 by Melvil Dewey. It reports news about the library world, emphasizing public libraries, and offers feature articles about aspects of professional prac ...

.'' She was co-founder and editor of ''VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates'', a professional magazine. Her more distinctive writings were published as part of a posthumous

festschrift In academia, a ''Festschrift'' (; plural, ''Festschriften'' ) is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the h ...

edited by Anthony Bernier, ''The Collected Wit and Wisdom of Dorothy M. Broderick'' (2013). * "On Quality Books for Children" (1961) * ''An Introduction to Children's Work in Public Libraries'' (1965) * "I May, I Might, I Must" and "Problem Nonfiction" Brid (1969) * "When the Censor Knocks..." (1971) * ''Image of the Black in Children's Fiction'' (1972, based on her dissertation) * ''Library Work with Children'' (1977) * "Intellectual Freedom and Young Adults" (1978)Broderick, Dorothy M
"Intellectual Freedom and Young Adults"
''Drexel Library Quarterly'' 14(1)(January 1978): 65-77. * ''Censorship, a Family Affair?'' (1979) * "Adolescent Development and Censorship" (1983)Broderick, Dorothy M. "Adolescent Development and Censorship." ''School Library Media Annual'' 1 (1983): 43-53. * "Focus on Youth: The Nonperson Gap in Public Library Collections" (1983) * ''Building Library Collections'' (1985, with

Arthur Curley Arthur Curley (January 22, 1938 – March 31, 1998) was an American librarian who was listed as one of the 100 most important library leaders of the 20th century by journal ''American Libraries''. Early life and education Arthur Curley was bo ...

) * ''The VOYA Reader'' (1990, editor) * "Reviewing Young Adult Books: The VOYA Editor Speaks Out" (1992) * "Moral Conflict and the Survival of the Public Library" (1993) * "Turning Library into a Dirty Word: A Rant" (1997) * ''Serious about series: evaluations and annotations of teen fiction in paperback series'' (1998, edited with S. Makowski) * ''The VOYA Reader 2'' (1998, edited with Mary K. Chelton)

Books for younger readers

* ''Leete's Island Adventure'' (1962) * ''Hank'' (1966) * ''Training a Companion Dog'' (1967, illustrated by Haris Petie) * ''Time for Stories of the Past and Present'' (1968, with

May Hill Arbuthnot May Hill Arbuthnot (August 27, 1884 – October 2, 1969) was an American educator, editor, writer, and critic who devoted her career to the awareness and importance of children's literature. Her efforts expanded and enriched the selection of bo ...

, illustrated by

Rainey Bennett Rainey Bennett (June 14, 1907 – July 26, 1998) was an American artist, illustrator and muralist. His works have been displayed in major museum art collections. Work The art collections of Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Museum of Modern ...

) * ''Time for Biography'' (1969, with May Hill Arbuthnot)

Awards

*Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award (1986) *

Freedom to Read Foundation The Freedom to Read Foundation (FTRF) is an American non-profit anti-censorship organization, established in 1969 by the American Library Association. The organization has been active in First Amendment-based challenges to book removals from librar ...

's Roll of Honor (1998)

Personal life

Broderick toured North America in a travel trailer with her dog Heidi in the early 1970s. She lived with her partner, fellow librarian Mary K. Chelton. Broderick died in 2011, at the age of 82, in

Patchogue, New York Patchogue ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Suffolk County, New York. The population was 12,408 at the time of the 2020 census. The Incorporated Village of Patchogue is an incorporated community in the Town (New ...

. Her typescript and proof for ''Hank'' are in the archives of the

University of Minnesota Libraries The University of Minnesota Libraries is the library system of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus, operating at 12 facilities in and around Minneapolis–Saint Paul. It has over 8 million volumes and 119,000 serial titles that are col ...

References

1929 births 2011 deaths People from Bridgeport, Connecticut Columbia University alumni American women writers American librarians {{Authority control