Zella Allen Dixson (August 10, 1858 – January 12, 1924) was an American writer, lecturer, librarian, and publisher.''Woman's Who's Who'' She was the longest-serving director and associate librarian of the University of Chicago Extension Division's library school.

Early life

Zella Allen was born on August 10, 1858, in

Zanesville, Ohio Zanesville is a city in Muskingum County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Located at the confluence of the Licking River (Ohio), Licking and Muskingum River, Muskingum rivers, the city is approximately east of Columbus, Ohio, Columb ...

, to Josiah Buffet Allen and Mary Caroline Blandy Allen."Dixson, Zella Allen" entry In 1880, she graduated from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a Private college, private Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in South Hadley, Massachusetts, United States. It is the oldest member of the h ...

.Stauffer, pg. 102. She married Joseph Ehrman Dixson in 1881 and was soon after widowed in 1885. She began working as an assistant to

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 Columbia College library not long after her husband's death and was one of Dewey's students in

library science 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 info ...

Career

In 1886, Dixson traveled around the Midwest, organizing over thirty libraries including those of

Denison University Denison University is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Granville, Ohio, United States. One of the earliest colleges established in the former Northwest Territory, Denison University was founded in 1831. It was first called ...

Kenyon College Kenyon College ( ) is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, United States. It was founded in 1824 by Episcopal Bishop Philander Chase. It is the oldest private instituti ...

, and Baptist Union Theological Seminary. She also organized the public libraries of

Elyria, Ohio Elyria ( ) is a city in Lorain County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located at the forks of the Black River (Ohio), Black River in Northeast Ohio, southwest of Cleveland. The population was 52,656 at the 2020 United States cens ...

;

La Crosse, Wisconsin La Crosse ( ) is a city in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. Positioned alongside the Mississippi River, La Crosse is the largest city on Wisconsin's western border. La Crosse's population was 52,680 as of the 202 ...

; and

Duluth, Minnesota Duluth ( ) is a Port, port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of St. Louis County, Minnesota, St. Louis County. Located on Lake Superior in Minnesota's Arrowhead Region, the city is a hub for cargo shipping. The population ...

. That same year, she joined 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 ...

. From 1888 to 1890, Dixson worked as the librarian of Denison University."Mrs. J. E. Dixson," 1888. From there, she went on to the Baptist Union Theological Seminary. In 1892, the Seminary became the Divinity School at the University of Chicago and Dixson was appointed assistant librarian. While working there, she earned her MA from Shephardson College for Women and would later earn her AM from Denison University in 1902. In 1895, she was promoted to associate librarian. During her career, she made three trips to Europe to study the handling of rare books.Dixson Papers. Dixson went on to become the associate librarian, instructor, and director of the library school at the University of Chicago Extension Division—a program originally designed to teach the public how to use libraries. University President

William Rainey Harper William Rainey Harper (July 24, 1856 – January 10, 1906) was an American academic leader, an accomplished semiticist, and Baptist clergyman. Harper helped to establish both the University of Chicago and Bradley University and served as the i ...

had initially asked Melvil Dewey to take the position, but Dewey turned it down.''International Dictionary of Library Histories'', pg. 821. By 1900, Dixson had expanded the library school into a program that provided professional training for librarians.Stauffer, pg. 101.

Feud with Melvil Dewey and Katharine Sharp

In 1900, Melvil Dewey wrote a letter to the president of 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 ...

, William Rainey Harper, stating that Dixson was incompetent as a librarian and as the program director of the library school. He also accused her of falsely claiming to be a graduate of the New York State Library School.Stauffer, pg. 104. Dixson responded by stating that she never claimed to have attended New York State Library School and that Dewey was only criticizing her work with the Extension Division because of the competition her program created with

Katharine Sharp Katharine Lucinda Sharp (May 21 or 25, 1865 – June 1, 1914) gained prominence as a pioneering librarian for her intense engagement with the library profession that spanned 19 years. Having founded the innovative University of Illinois Libra ...

's library school at the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in Urbana. She pointed out the many esteemed library positions held by her program's graduates, and also defended herself by presenting copies of letters and addresses Dewey wrote in which he praised Dixson as one of his best students. Dixson concluded her letter to Harper by stating: The students, graduates, and employers of those who were enrolled in the Extension Division's library school also wrote to Harper defending both the program and Dixson's competence. University library cataloger and instructor Josephine Robertson even stated her belief that Dewey was bitter over Dixson's creation and use of a different classification system than the one he devised.Stauffer, pg. 105. In 1902, Harper received a letter from the ALA's College and Reference Library Section criticizing the Extension Division's program and Dixson. Dixson responded by stating that each of their criticisms was false and accused Katharine Sharp and Melvil Dewey, who was a member of the ALA's College Section, of conspiring against her library school.Stauffer, pg. 106. She also warned Harper that, if he decided to close down the school, it would cost the university thousands of dollars in returned tuition and cause the library to lose its student workers. In July 1903, the ALA's Committee on Library Training, of which Katharine Sharp was a member, released a report on the Extension Division's school, criticizing it for not having stricter admissions requirements and for not requiring students to complete the full program before receiving a certificate.Stauffer, pg. 107. In October of that year, the library school was shut down with much protest from the students and the faculty.

Later life

After the library school at the University of Chicago Extension Division closed, Dixson remained as the university's associate librarian."Twenty-five years," 1910. In 1906, she was given an honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters by

Shurtleff College Shurtleff College was a Baptist liberal arts school in Alton, Illinois until 1957. History Founded in 1827 by Reverend John Mason Peck (a Baptist missionary) as Rock Spring Seminary in St. Clair County, Illinois, and relocated to Alton, Illinoi ...

, which is now part of

Southern Illinois University Southern Illinois University is a system of public universities in the southern region of the U.S. state of Illinois. Its headquarters is in Carbondale, Illinois. Board of trustees The university is governed by the nine member SIU Board of T ...

.Stauffer, pg. 108. She retired from the University of Chicago in 1910 to spend more time working on her literary projects and the Wisteria Cottage Press, which she owned and operated. She remained active in the Chicago Woman's Club and the Chicago Political Equality League through 1914.''Directory and Register of Women's Clubs'', pg. 12, 65. Dixson died on January 12, 1924, in Chicago.

Professional associations & clubs

Dixson joined the American Library Association, 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 ...

,Moore, 1897. and the Chicago Library Club in 1886. She was a member of the Chicago Woman's Club and president of the Mt. Holyoke Association of the Northwest as well as a member of the Chicago Political Equality League, the Travelers' Club, and the Authors League of America. In 1893, she was appointed to the Woman's Advisory Council on a Congress of Librarians and was a member of both the Advisory Council of the Woman's Branch of the Worlds' Congress Auxiliary and the Committee on Literature Sub-Congress on Libraries."Zella A. Dixon," 1893. Dixson belonged to several clubs in Europe as well, most of them focusing on bookplates (also known as "ex-libris"). She was a member of the Ex Libris Society of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Exlibris Verein zu Berlin (Ex-Libris Association of

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

), Österreichische Ex-Libris-Gesellschaft (Austrian Ex-Libris Society) in

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

, Société Française des Collectionneurs d'Ex-Libris (French Society of Ex-Libris Collectors) in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

, and the Ex-Libris Club in

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

Published works

In 1894, Dixson's work ''Library Science'' was published. Her works ''Cataloger's Manual of Authors' Names'' and ''Comprehensive Subject Index to Universal Prose Fiction'' were published in 1895 and 1896 respectively.Dixson, 1897. Dixson was also an avid collector of

bookplates An , also known as a bookplate (or book-plate, as it was commonly styled until the early 20th century), is a printed or decorative label pasted into a book, often on the front endpaper, to indicate ownership. Simple typographical bookplates are ...

and, in 1902, published a collection called ''Children's book-plates.'' She followed it up in 1903 with ''Concerning book-plates: a handbook for collectors''.''Who was who in America''

References

Notes

Bibliography

''Directory and Register of Women's Clubs: City of Chicago and Vicinity.''
Chicago: Linden Brothers & Harry H. De Clerque, 1914.
"Dixson, Zella Allen" entry pg. 2025 in ''Twentieth century biographical dictionary of notable Americans.'' vol.2
ed. by Rossiter Johnson, Ph.D., LL.D. Boston: The Biographical Society, 1904. * Dixson, Zella Allen
''Comprehensive Subject Index to Universal Prose Fiction.''
New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1897. * Dixson, Zella Allen. Papers (1876-1910). Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago. * Harper, W.R. Correspondence (1900-1903). (Series 1, Box 26, Folder 8). Office of the President.
''International Dictionary of Library Histories.''
ed. by David H. Stam. New York: Routledge, 2001. * Moore, E.L. "Illinois Library Association.
''Library Journal'' 22
(1897): 28-29. * "Mrs. J.E. Dixson." ''Denison Collegian'' (October 6, 1888): no page number. * Stauffer, Suzanne M. "'Mr. Dewey Is Crazy and Katharine Sharp Hates the University of Chicago:' Gender, Power, and Personality and the Demise of the University of Chicago Course in Library Science 1897-1903." ''Journal of Education for Library and Information Science'' 56, no. 2 (Spring 2015): 101-113.
"Twenty-five years of library service."
''Public Libraries'' 15 (1910): 211. * ''Who was who in America: a companion biographical reference work to Who's who in America.'' (1960). Vol. 3. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who.
''Woman's Who's Who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada''
ed. by John William Leonard. New York: The American Commonwealth Company, 1914. pg. 249. * "Zella A. Dixon" ic Chicago News-Record (February 20, 1893), no page number.

External links

Zella Allen Dixson collection in University of Chicago Photographic Archive

''Illustrated Catalogue and Classified Book List of the Northwestern Library Association''. Chicago: Northwestern Library Association, September 1899. (Partly compiled and edited by Zella Allen Dixson)

Illinois Library Association

Guide to the Zella Allen Dixson Papers 1876-1910
at th
University of Chicago Special Collections Research Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dixson, Zella Allen 1858 births 1924 deaths 19th-century American writers 19th-century American women writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women writers 19th-century American librarians 19th-century American women librarians 20th-century American librarians 20th-century American women librarians Mount Holyoke College alumni Denison University alumni University of Chicago people People from Zanesville, Ohio