Edwin Hatfield Anderson (September 27, 1861 – April 29, 1947) was a prominent American library leader during the first third of the 20th century, serving as director of both the

Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh is the public library system in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Its main branch is located in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, and it has 19 branch locations throughout the city. Like hundreds of other Carne ...

and the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

. He also served as the president 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 ...

in 1913-14.

Biography

Anderson was born in

Zionsville, Indiana Zionsville is a suburban town located in the extreme southeast area of Boone County, Indiana, Boone County, Indiana, United States, northwest of Indianapolis. The population was 14,160 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census and 30,693 at t ...

. He graduated from

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college located in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832, by a group of Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, the institution was originally named "The Wabash Teachers Seminary an ...

in 1883, receiving his

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

(A.M.) in 1887. Anderson worked with

Andrew Carnegie Andrew Carnegie ( , ; November 25, 1835August 11, 1919) was a Scottish-American industrialist and philanthropist. Carnegie led the expansion of the History of the iron and steel industry in the United States, American steel industry in the late ...

to create the Carnegie Library in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

in 1895, and served as the director of that library until 1904, when he stepped down because he could not afford to support his family on the salary. After a two-year stint (1906–08) as the head of 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 ...

and Library School, Anderson became the director of the

in 1909, a position he held until 1934. As a library leader, Anderson was best remembered for the librarian education programs he established in both Pittsburgh and New York City. Anderson was married, with at least two children, daughters Charlotte and Cecile. He died in

Evanston, Illinois Evanston is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States, situated on the North Shore (Chicago), North Shore along Lake Michigan. A suburb of Chicago, Evanston is north of Chicago Loop, downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skok ...

.''New York Times'', 1947 May 2, pg 20

References

1861 births 1947 deaths Librarians from Indiana New York Public Library people Presidents of the American Library Association {{library-bio-stub