Mary Peacock Douglas (February 8, 1903 – January 29, 1970) 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 ...

and author. She was a nationally recognized expert in

school libraries A school library (or a school media center) is a library within a school where students, and sometimes their parents and staff have access to borrow a variety of resources, often literary or digital. The goal of a school library or media cente ...

and made remarkable contributions for the development of the school library system in America.

Biography

Born on February 8, 1903, in

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury ( ) is a city in the Piedmont (United States), Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County, North Carolina, Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. ...

, Mary Peacock Douglas was the daughter of Philip N. and Mary E. Trotter Peacock. In 1923, she earned the A.B. degree from the Woman's College of the

University of North Carolina The University of North Carolina is the Public university, public university system for the state of North Carolina. Overseeing the state's 16 public universities and the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics, it is commonly referre ...

(now called the

University of North Carolina at Greensboro The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG or UNC Greensboro) is a public research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina system. It is accredited by the S ...

). She also graduated with a B.S. in the L.S. degree from the School of Library Service,

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 1931. In 1923 she began her career as an English teacher and later became a school librarian in Salisbury. In July 1930, she became the first state school library adviser in the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. During her tenure, she made notable contributions to school library development in the form of guidance, demonstration and publication of handbooks. In June 1947 she became the first supervisor of libraries of City Schools in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most populous city in the state (after Charlotte, North Carolina, Charlotte) ...

and continued to serve in this position until her retirement on June 30, 1968. She advocated the need for national guidelines to establish best practices in school libraries. She chaired a committee that formulated the 1945 ALA standards for school libraries titled ''School Libraries for Today and Tomorrow''. As a nationally recognized school library system expert, she held leadership positions in a number of professional organizations, including North Carolina Library Association, South-eastern Library Association, American Library Association’s School Libraries Section, and the national organization of State School Library Supervisors. Her publications include ''North Carolina School Library Handbook'' and '' Teacher-Librarian's Handbook''. The '' Teacher-Librarian's Handbook'', one of the best selling books, was translated into Korean, Japanese, Spanish and Turkish. In recognition of her outstanding contributions in inspiring children and youth, she was honored with the Grolier Society Award in 1958. On August 25, 1931, she married Clarence DeWitt Douglas, who served as comptroller of the

North Carolina State Board of Education The North Carolina State Board of Education, established by Article 9 of the Constitution of North Carolina, supervises and administers the public school systems of North Carolina. The board sets policy and general procedures for public school syst ...

. She died of cancer on January 29, 1970.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Douglas, Mary Peacock 1903 births 1970 deaths American librarians American women librarians American Library Association people 20th-century American women academics