Jean Whyte AM (1923–2003) was the foundation professor of the Graduate School of

Librarianship 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 inf ...

Monash University Monash University () is a public university, public research university based in Melbourne, Victoria (state), Victoria, Australia. Named after World War I general Sir John Monash, it was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the ...

.Jean Whyte
alia.org.au. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
womenaustralia.info. Retrieved 1 June 2023. She has been referred to as "a leading member of the library profession in Australia".Whyte, Jean Primrose
dictionaryofsydney.org. Retrieved 13 September 2022.Whyte Fund
monash.edu. Retrieved 1 June 2023.Brian McMullin
"Yadlamalka Girl Shaped Australian Librarianship"
''The Australian Library Journal'', Vol. 52, Issue 2, 2003. Retrieved 1 June 2023.

Life and career

Jean Primrose Whyte was born in

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

on 27 June 1923. Her parents were Ernest Primrose (Prim) Whyte and Kitty Macully and she spent the first ten years of her life on a

sheep station A sheep station is a large property ( station, the equivalent of a ranch) in Australia or New Zealand, whose main activity is the raising of sheep for their wool and/or meat. In Australia, sheep stations are usually in the south-east or sout ...

north of

Port Augusta Port Augusta (''Goordnada'' in the revived indigenous Barngarla language) is a coastal city in South Australia about by road from the state capital, Adelaide. Most of the city is on the eastern shores of Spencer Gulf, immediately south of the ...

, South Australia.Kitty Whyte with daughter Jean (photograph)
slsa.sa.gov.au. Retrieved 1 June 2023. After studying

St Peter's Collegiate Girls' School St Peter's Girls' School (commonly known as Saints Girls) is an independent Anglican early learning, primary and secondary day school for girls located in the Adelaide suburb of Stonyfell, in South Australia, Australia. Founded in 1894 a ...

in Adelaide. Despite parental opposition who "did not believe in higher education for girls", she stayed in Adelaide at the end of her high school studies and began working in the Public Library of South Australia (now known as the

State Library of South Australia The State Library of South Australia, or SLSA, formerly known as the Public Library of South Australia, located on North Terrace, Adelaide, is the official library of the Australian state of South Australia. It is the largest public research li ...

) while studying part time at the

University of Adelaide The University of Adelaide is a public university, public research university based in Adelaide, South Australia. Established in 1874, it is the third-oldest university in Australia. Its main campus in the Adelaide city centre includes many Sa ...

. In 1951 she graduated with first class honours in English and the

John Howard Clark John Howard Clark (15 January 1830 – 20 May 1878) was editor of '' The South Australian Register'' from 1870 to 1877 and was responsible for its ''Echoes from the Bush'' column and closely associated with its ''Geoffry Crabthorn'' persona. ...

Prize for her first. She occupied increasingly senior positions at the State Library of South Australia until 1958. During that period she was awarded a

Fulbright Grant The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

to study graduate librarianship at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, or UChi) is a Private university, private research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Its main campus is in the Hyde Park, Chicago, Hyde Park neighborhood on Chicago's South Side, Chic ...

. During the years 1959-1972 she worked in

Sydney University The University of Sydney (USYD) is a public university, public research university in Sydney, Australia. Founded in 1850, it is the oldest university in both Australia and Oceania. One of Australia's six sandstone universities, it was one of the ...

Fisher Library The University of Sydney Library is the library system of the University of Sydney. It comprises eight locations across several campuses of the university. Its largest library, Fisher Library, is named after Thomas Fisher, an early benefactor. ...

, where in 1966 she was appointed as the Associate Librarian (Reader Services). In 1972 she moved to the

National Library of Australia The National Library of Australia (NLA), formerly the Commonwealth National Library and Commonwealth Parliament Library, is the largest reference library in Australia, responsible under the terms of the ''National Library Act 1960'' for "mainta ...

, Canberra where she became the Director of Information Resources and Services. In 1975 she was appointed as the foundation professor of

's Graduate School of Librarianship (now part of the Caulfield School of Information Technology), which under her tutelage developed as a leading Australian school in library and information science and one known for its scholarship and research. She set up "master’s courses in librarianship, archives and records" and "a strong PhD and master’s by research program", and Monash's research expertise in the same fields. Over the years she worked closely with the

Library Association of Australia The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), formerly the Australian Institute of Librarians and Library Association of Australia, is the peak professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. ...

, and in particular its Board of Education, and edited the Association's ''

Australian Library Journal The Australian Library and Information Association (ALIA), formerly the Australian Institute of Librarians and Library Association of Australia, is the peak professional organisation for the Australian library and information services sector. ...

'' for more than a decade. In 1988 she retired from Monash as a Professor Emeritus and in the years 1981-1987 she served as a member of the Council of the National Library of Australia.

Final years

Whyte died in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

on 18 March 2003.

Whyte Fund

Following "generous bequests" by Jean Whyte and her sister Phyllis, the Whyte Fund was set up to support "research and education into librarianship, archives and records" at Monash University.

Awards and honours

* 1963: Library Association of Australia Fellowship * 1987: H. C. L. Anderson Award * 1988: Member of the

Order of Australia The Order of Australia is an Australian honours and awards system, Australian honour that recognises Australian citizens and other persons for outstanding achievement and service. It was established on 14 February 1975 by Elizabeth II, Monarch ...

"for service to education particularly in the field of librarianship" * 1996: Honorary D.Litt. from Monash University

Bibliography

* Jean Whyte, Margaret Isaacs and Linda Emmett, ''Libraries and Australian Literature: A Report on the Representation of Australian Creative Writing in Australian Libraries''. Melbourne, Victoria: The Ancora Press, Monash University, 1988. * Jean Whyte and David J. Jones,
Uniting a profession; The Australian Institute of Librarians, 1937–1949
'. Kingston, ACT, Australian Library and Information Association, 2007.

References

External links

Papers of Jean Whyte
at

Biographical cuttings on Jean Primrose Whyte, Professor Librarianship
at

Selected resources for Whyte, Jean Primrose, (AM) (1923-2003)
at Trove Australia
Whyte Fund
at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whyte, Jean 1923 births 2003 deaths Australian librarians Australian women librarians Academic staff of Monash University Members of the Order of Australia