Rare Book & Manuscript Library
 

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
Title Melvil Dewey papers, 1870-1931
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.

Arrangement

Arrangement

Selected materials cataloged; remainder arranged.

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.

Using the Collection

Rare Book and Manuscript Library

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. Box 35A is missing (Feb 2020).

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

Subject Headings

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

All links open new windows.

Genre/Form

Heading "CUL Archives:"
"Portal"
"CUL Collections:"
"CLIO"
"Nat'l / Int'l Archives:"
"ArchivedGRID"
Account books Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Biographies (literary works) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Diaries Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Financial records Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Notebooks Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Personnel records Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Photographs Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Reports Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Speeches (documents) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
indexes (reference sources) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID

Subject

Heading "CUL Archives:"
"Portal"
"CUL Collections:"
"CLIO"
"Nat'l / Int'l Archives:"
"ArchivedGRID"
American Library Association Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Classification -- Books Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Classification, Dewey decimal Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Columbia College (New York, N.Y.) Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Lake Placid Club Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Librarians Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Libraries -- United States Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
New York State Library Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Public libraries -- United States Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID
Spelling reform Portal CLIO ArchiveGRID

History / Biographical Note

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.