Elvira "Elva" Lucile Bascom (June 20, 1870 – November 5, 1944) 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 ...

, best known for her work editing

Booklist ''Booklist'' is a publication of the American Library Association that provides critical reviews of books and audiovisual materials for all ages. ''Booklist''s primary audience consists of libraries, educators, and booksellers. The magazine is ...

from 1909 to 1913 and for her work on book selection.

Early life and career

Elva Bascom was born in Greensburg,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, Bascom was the daughter of that city's postmaster, Reynolds Bascom (1833-1901), and Lucy F. Andrews Bascom (1834-1920). She attended

Lake Erie College Lake Erie College is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Painesville, Ohio. Founded in 1856 as a female seminary, the college converted to a coeducational institution in 1985. History Lake Erie Female Seminary The semi ...

from 1886 to 1889 and Alleghany College (where she was a member of

Kappa Alpha Theta Kappa Alpha Theta (), commonly referred to simply as Theta, is an international Fraternities and sororities, sorority founded on January 27, 1870, at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. It was the first Greek-letter fraternity established ...

) from 1890 to 1894, graduating in 1895. Bascom graduated from the Library School 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 ...

in 1901. She worked at the New York State Library from 1901 to 1908; in 1905 she assisted Martha Wheeler of the Library School in preparing a publication on "Indexing", with an introduction by library director

Melvil Dewey Melville Louis Kossuth "Melvil" Dewey (December 10, 1851 – December 26, 1931) was an American librarian and educator who invented the Dewey Decimal system of library classification. He was a founder of the Lake Placid Club, a chief librarian a ...

. Bascom took over as the editor of

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 ...

publication ''Booklist'' in November 1909, moving to

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. It is the List of municipalities in Wisconsin by population, second-most populous city in the state, with a population of 269,840 at the 2020 Uni ...

where the previous editor Katherine McDonald of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission resided (although the publication's business office was in Boston). It has been said that she "was the first ''Booklist'' editor to achieve national recognition". In 1912 Bascom published a new edition of the A. L. A. book catalog, a suggested holdings list for libraries. On leaving ''Booklist'' in 1913 she taught at the Wisconsin Library School. In 1918 she left a position as the head of the Book Selection and Study Club Department at the Wisconsin Free Library Commission and went to a temporary position as a library liaison at the

United States Children's Bureau The United States Children's Bureau is a federal agency founded in 1912, organized under the United States Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and Families. Today, the bureau's operations involve improving child a ...

. In 1919 she moved to

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

to run the new library science school at the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public university, public research university in Austin, Texas, United States. Founded in 1883, it is the flagship institution of the University of Texas System. With 53,082 stud ...

. She served as president of the

Texas Library Association The Texas Library Association (TLA) is a charitable non-profit group that promotes libraries in Texas. It was founded on June 9, 1902. TLA is affiliated with the American Library Association (ALA) and has more than 6,000 members made up of librar ...

1922-1923. The program was closed down in 1925, and from 1926 into the 1930s Bascom was affiliated with the Carnegie Library School in

Pittsburgh 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 1937 Bascom returned to Ohio to work as the Sunday school librarian at the Church of the Covenant in Cleveland."Elva Bascom", ''Wisconsin State Journal'' (Madison), November 14, 1944, p. 8 Bascom is buried in the Pioneer (or Greene) Cemetery,

Greene Township, Trumbull County, Ohio Greene Township is one of the twenty-four civil township, townships of Trumbull County, Ohio, Trumbull County, Ohio, United States. The United States Census, 2020, 2020 census found 950 people in the township. Geography Located in the northern p ...

, with her parents and siblings. Of her siblings, several brothers died young and her sister Althea died shortly before her eighteenth birthday in 1885; only her older brother Harold Wales Bascom (1858-1939) lived into adulthood.

Works

* "Indexing: Principles, Rules, and Examples" - pamphlet, 1905 (with Martha Wheeler) * "Selected books on nature study for schools and libraries" - pamphlet, 1910 * A. L. A. Catalog, 1904-1911, Class List: 3,000 Titles for a Popular Library, With Notes and Indexes, 1912 * "Book Selection" - pamphlet, 1915 * "Child Welfare: Selected List of Books and Pamphlets" - pamphlet, 1918 * "Poems of Pennsylvania" - article, Pennsylvania Library Notes, July 1934 * "Kappa Alpha Theta Leisure Hour Library; five hundred books..." - 1938

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bascom, Elva 1870 births 1944 deaths People from Trumbull County, Ohio Writers from Ohio Allegheny College alumni Lake Erie College alumni Librarians from Ohio American women librarians American Library Association people