Lutie Eugenia Stearns (September 13, 1866 – December 25, 1943) was an American teacher, librarian, author, speaker and political activist, known to some as "the Johnny Appleseed of books" for her innovative traveling library projects for the Wisconsin Free Library Commission, and is a member of the

Library Hall of Fame The Library Hall of Fame was a list created in 1951 that recognized leaders of the late 19th- and early 20th-century library movement, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the American Library Association The American Library Associatio ...

list created in 1951.

Early life

Stearns was born in

Stoughton, Massachusetts Stoughton (official name: Town of Stoughton) is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 29,281 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The town is located approximately from Boston, from Providence, Rh ...

on September 13, 1866. Naturally left-handed, she was challenged in school to become right-handed; these frustrations are believed to be responsible for her stutter, which stayed with her permanently. In 1871, her family moved to

Milwaukee, Wisconsin Milwaukee is the List of cities in Wisconsin, most populous city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Located on the western shore of Lake Michigan, it is the List of United States cities by population, 31st-most populous city in the United States ...

. She attended

Milwaukee State Normal School Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee was a predecessor institution of the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee. Founded in 1885 as Wisconsin State Normal School, it became Wisconsin State Teachers College-Milwaukee in 1927, and Wisconsin State Coll ...

and graduated 1886. In the 1886 she began working as a teacher

Milwaukee Public Schools Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS) is the largest school district in Wisconsin. As of the 2015–16 school year, MPS served 75,568 students in 154 schools and had 9,636 full-time equivalent (FTE) staff positions. The system is one of the largest i ...

. The way she collected the books caught Minnie M. Oakley's attention and secured her a library position when Minnie M. Oakley died.

Teacher

From 1886 to 1888, Stearns worked in the Milwaukee Public Library system. She started in the fall of 1886. She realized a disparity in understanding between German and American students with expressions and cultural items. She decided to collect books to help them with exposure to words and ideas and gain literacy. The way she collected them caught the attention of Minnie M. Oakley in the Circulation department of Milwaukee Public Library. This secured her a Library position when Minnie M. Oakley died.

Librarian

From 1888 to 1895, Lutie Stearns worked for the Milwaukee Public Library in the circulation department. She became the head of the department by 1890, but meanwhile she worked to ensure children, educators, and parents had access to material that would support literacy. She often read to children while still donating books to libraries. From 1895 to 1914, Stearns worked for the Wisconsin Free Library Commission where she led efforts to promote library services throughout the state. Stearns believed books have the power to change peoples' lives. She followed this belief by providing books at 1500 locations in Wisconsin through traveling libraries between 1895 and 1914. She also helped organize a 30 county cooperative library and 150 permanent Library buildings. In order to deliver her donated books, she would often travel by stagecoach, by train, and by sleigh in personally ensure they reached every corner of Milwaukee and its surrounding area.

Political life

In 1914, Stearns left librarianship to devote herself full-time to lecturing on a variety of topics. She traveled to 38 states to speak on prohibition, women's rights, the League of Nations, industrial reform, peace, and education. She also wrote a column for the ''Milkwaukee Journal'' entitled "As a Woman Sees It". In 1951 she was one of 40 of America's most significant library leaders selected by the ''Library Journal'' for inclusion in a "

". She was also in the first group of librarians to be inducted into the Wisconsin Library Hall of Fame in 2008. Sterns died in Milwaukee on Christmas Day, December 25, 1943.

Bibliography

* ''The Question of Library Training'' (1905) * ''Traveling Libraries in Wisconsin'' (1910) * ''List of Books for Girls and Young Women'' (1911) * ''Essentials in Library Administration'' (1912) * ''My Seventy-Five Years: Part I, 1866-1914'' (1959) * ''My Seventy-Five Years: Part II, 1914-1942'' (1959) * ''My Seventy-Five Years: Part III, Increasingly Personal'' (1959–60)

References

External links

* *
Lutie Stearns on Hathi Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stearns, Lutie E. 1866 births 1943 deaths Librarians from Wisconsin American women librarians People from Stoughton, Massachusetts People from Milwaukee Educators from Wisconsin American women educators