Mary Wright Plummer (March 8, 1856 in

Richmond, Indiana Richmond () is a city in eastern Wayne County, Indiana, United States. Bordering the state of Ohio, it is the county seat of Wayne County. In the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 35,720. It is the principal c ...

– September 21, 1916 in

Dixon, Illinois Dixon is a city in Lee County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. The population was 15,274 as of the 2020 census. The city is named after founder John Dixon, who operated a rope ferry service across the Rock River (Mississippi River ...

) was an American librarian who became the second female 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 ...

(1915–1916).

Biography

Mary Wright Plummer was born in Richmond, Indiana to Quaker parents and attended the Friends Academy. When 17, she moved with her family to Chicago. From 1881 to 1882 she studied at

Wellesley College Wellesley College is a Private university, private Women's colleges in the United States, historically women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Wellesley, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1870 by Henr ...

. Then she entered the first class taught by

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 ...

at the

Columbia College School of Library Economy The Columbia University School of Library Service was a school dedicated to education for librarianship that was part of Columbia University in New York City. It was founded by Melvil Dewey and began operation in 1887 as the Columbia College Schoo ...

in January 1887. She completed the program in 1888 and served as a cataloger for two years at the Saint Louis Public Library. In 1890, she came to the Pratt Institute Free Library to help administer the library and begin a course for training new librarians. The course led to the creation of a

library school A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

which Plummer headed beginning in 1895—the same year she became head of the library. Her publications include a collection of poetry (e.g., ''Verses''), several children's books (e.g., ''Stories from the Chronicle of the Cid''), and books on the profession of librarianship (e.g., ''Hints to Small Libraries'' and ''Training for Librarianship''). Plummer held leadership roles in the library profession at a time when it was unusual for women to lead. She was the second female president of the

during 1915–1916. She served as vice president from 1900 to 1911. She also served as the president of the New York State Library Association, the New York Library Club, and the Long Island Library Club. Plummer is credited with originating the idea of ethics for the library profession, which she spoke about in an address for the

Illinois Library Association The Illinois Library Association (ILA) is the eighth oldest library association in the world and the third largest state library association in the United States. It is headquartered in Chicago. History The first meeting of what was to become th ...

titled "The Pros and Cons of Librarianship".

Works

''Hints to Small Libraries''
Brooklyn, NY: Pratt Institute Free Library, 1894.
''Roy and Ray in Mexico''
New York, NY: H.Holt, 1907.
''The Seven Joys of Reading''
White Plains, N.Y.: H.W. Wilson, 1916.
''Training for Librarianship''
with Frank Keller Walter, Chicago, IL: American Library Association, 1923.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Plummer, Mary Wright 1856 births 1916 deaths Presidents of the American Library Association People from Richmond, Indiana Wellesley College alumni Columbia University School of Library Service alumni Librarians from Indiana American women librarians American women writers