Melvil Dewey papers, 1870-1931

Summary Information

At a Glance

Call No.:
Ms Coll\Dewey, M
Bib ID:
4078696 View CLIO record
Creator(s):
Dewey, Melvil, 1851-1931; Dawe, Grosvenor, 1863-1948
Repository:
Rare Book and Manuscript Library
Physical Description:
68.5 linear feet (106 boxes, 73 pamphlet boxes)
Language(s):
English .
Access:
You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Description

Summary

The professional and personal correspondence, papers, and pamphlet collection of Melvil Dewey, relating to libraries, the American Library Association, library classification, the Lake Placid Club, Columbia College, the New York State Library, and spelling reform. Included are notes for and a typescript of Grosvenor Dawe's biography of Dewey.

Arrangement

Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access

You will need to make an appointment in advance to use this collection material in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room. You can schedule an appointment once you've submitted your request through your Special Collections Research Account.

This collection is located off-site. You will need to request this material at least three business days in advance to use the collection in the Rare Book and Manuscript Library reading room.

Terms Governing Use and Reproduction

Readers must use microfilm copy for Box 35A journals, i.e. diaries, which are fragile.

Related Materials

New York State Library School Records.Series III. Columbia University Libraries.

Librarians' Portraits Collection. Columbia University Libraries.

Accruals

Materials may have been added to the collection since this finding aid was prepared. Contact rbml@columbia.edu for more information.

Alternate Form Available

Diaries are on: microfilm.

Ownership and Custodial History

Gift of Godfrey Dewey, 1943-44; gift of Forest Press, 1987.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Source of acquisition--Dewey, Godfrey. Method of acquisition--Gift; Date of acquisition--1943. Accession number--M-43.

About the Finding Aid / Processing Information

Columbia University Libraries, Rare Book and Manuscript Library

Processing Information

Cataloged Christina Hilton Fenn 06/--/89.

Revision Description

2020-03-23 Replaced PDF with structured finding aid. cml/kws

2023-05-10 Box 100 and 100A inventory updated by CLB

Biographical / Historical

Melvil Dewey (1851–1931), born Melville Louis Kossuth Dewey, was an influential American librarian and educator, inventor of the Dewey Decimal system of library classification, a founding member of the American Library Association, and a chief librarian at Columbia University. His library supply and equipment company, Library Bureau, provided furnishings for many of the public libraries constructed by Andrew Carnegie's bequest at the turn of the 20th century, as well as filing supplies for business and government records management. Dewey was also a founder of the Lake Placid Club and an advocate for spelling reform and adoption of the metric system in the United States. Although Dewey's contributions to the modern library are widely recognized, his legacy is marred by documented incidents of sexual harassment, racism, and antisemitism. Under Dewey's leadership, the Lake Placid Club's official policies barred Black, Jewish, and other people from marginalized groups from membership. Dewey was also forced to step down from participating in the American Library Association following a series of incidents in which he sexually harassed prominent women librarians on an ALA-sponsored trip to Alaska.

Subject Headings

The subject headings listed below are found in this collection. Links below allow searches for other collections at Columbia University, through CLIO, the catalog for Columbia University Libraries, and through ArchiveGRID, a catalog that allows users to search the holdings of multiple research libraries and archives.

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form
Account books CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Biographies (literary works) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Diaries CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Financial records CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Notebooks CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Personnel records CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Photographs CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Reports CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Speeches (documents) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
indexes (reference sources) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Name
American Library Association CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Columbia College (New York, N.Y.) CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Lake Placid Club CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
New York State Library CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Subject
Classification -- Books CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Classification, Dewey decimal CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Librarians CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Libraries -- United States CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Public libraries -- United States CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID
Spelling reform CLIO Catalog ArchiveGRID