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.

Early life

Edith Allen Phelps was born in

Springfield, Missouri Springfield is the List of cities in Missouri, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Missouri and the county seat of Greene County, Missouri, Greene County. The city's population was 169,176 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 censu ...

, 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 Ethan Allen ( – February 12, 1789) was an American farmer, writer, military officer and politician. He is best known as one of the founders of Vermont and for the capture of Fort Ticonderoga during the American Revolutionary War, and wa ...

. She had two siblings: Lucy Phelps (1869-1895) and John Smith Phelps (1872-1947). Phelps attended

Drexel University Drexel University is a private university, private research university with its main campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Drexel's undergraduate school was founded in 1891 by Anthony Joseph Drexel, Anthony J. Drexel, a financier ...

and trained at

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 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 or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

; for 12 years (from 1904 to 1916) she was the librarian at the Carnegie Library in

Guthrie, Oklahoma Guthrie is a city and county seat in Logan County, Oklahoma, United States, and a part of the Oklahoma City Metroplex. Its population was 10,191 at the 2010 census, a 2.7% increase from 9,925 in the 2000 census. First known as a railroad st ...

and here taught Library Science course for the

University of Oklahoma The University of Oklahoma (OU) is a Public university, public research university in Norman, Oklahoma, United States. Founded in 1890, it had existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two territories became the ...

. For two years she was the librarian at

Tyler, Texas Tyler, officially the City of Tyler, is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, United States. As of 2020, the population is 105,995. Tyler was the List of municipalities in Texas, 38th most populous city in Texas (as well as the m ...

, 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 (Kansas City, Missouri), Central Library in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri. The system operates its Central Library and neighborhood branches l ...

. Phelps was president of the Oklahoma Library Association 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 librarians, library and information professionals working in business, government, law, finance, non-profit, and academic organizations and institutions. Af ...

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. History 19th century ...

, California Library Association,

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 ...

, 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 ; ; ; Chumashan languages, Chumash: ''tiłhini'') is a city and county seat of San Luis Obispo County, California, United States. Located on the Central Coast (California), Central Coast of California, San Luis Obispo is roughly halfway betwee ...

. She lived at Paso Robles, California. 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 Librarians from Missouri 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