ST. LOUIS METROPOLITAN AREA CHAPTER HIGHLIGHTS
1941-1981
b y
ELIZABETH W. OWENS
1 9 8 3
SPECIAL THANKS
to
CONSTANCE FORD, LORI CALCATERRA, MARY BIRES,
JAMIE GRAHAM, MARGARET MADDEN, CONSTANCE PFAFF and LAINEE GEORGE
for help and understanding
“The Forties”
The first account of the founding of the Greater St. Louis Chapter of the Special Libraries Association was written by Mary C. Clynes, Librarian of the Star-Times newspaper and was published in the Missouri Library Association Quarterly, September, 1942.
“In June, 1941, Miss Josephine B. Hollingsworth, SLA first Vice-President and Chapter liaison officer, met informally with a small group of St. Louis special librarians who, for several years, had talked about and wished for the establishment of a St. Louis Chapter of the Special Libraries Association. National officers had encouraged interest in the organization of a St. Louis Chapter. Out of this meeting grew definite plans for formal organization in the fall of 1941. A preliminary meeting was held on November 27, 1941, to plan the formal organization of the St. Louis Chapter. Twelve librarians met and decided to meet again during the Missouri Teacher’s and Librarian’s Convention to be held in December, 1941. National SLA headquarters advised interested members of the St. Louis group that Mrs. Irene N. Strieby, Librarian of the Lilly Research Laboratories of Indianapolis, would assist in additional plans for the formation of a St. Louis Chapter. On December 5, the meeting of business, industrial and other special librarians was held, with Mr. Allen G. Ring, Librarian of Mallinckrodt Chemical Company, acting as Chairman. Mrs. Strieby discussed the organization of the St. Louis Chapter. After Mrs. Strieby’s address a petition to the Executive Board of Special Libraries Association was signed by seventeen librarians in this area to approve the formation of the Greater St. Louis Chapter. Through the uncertain period of the Pearl Harbor attack and the beginning of World War !I, there was more thinking and planning. On December 15 another meeting of the group was held, at which time a constitution conforming to the national constitution of Special Libraries Association was adopted, and the name, Special Libraries Association, Greater St. Louis Chapter was chosen. On December 19, 1941, word was received of the National Executive Board’s approval, and the Greater St. Louis Chapter was an accomplished fact, with the following elected as temporary officers to serve until the regular election of officers in May, 1942:
| President, Ida Mae Hammond, Ralston Purina Company |
| Vice President, Allen G. Ring, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works |
| Secretary-Treasurer, Lillian A. Case, Anheuser-Busch Brewery |
| Director-at-Large, Frederick C. Ault, St. Louis Municipal Reference Library |
| Executive Board Member, Mary Zelle, St. Louis Public-Applied |
| Science Honorary Councilor, Dr. Arthur E. Bostwick Librarian, St. Louis Public |
| The Charter Members Were: |
| Frederick C. Ault, St. Louis Municipal Reference Library |
| Lillian A. Case, Anheuser-Busch |
| Mary C. Clynes, St. Louis Star-Times |
| Marie Comté, Monsanto Chemical Company |
| Willard K. Dennis, Parks Air College |
| Virginia Dowdall, Southwestern Bell Telephone |
| Harriet Hagemeyer, Washington University Dental School |
| Ida Mae Hammond, Ralston Purina Company |
| Cecelia Kiel, Mercantile-Commerce Bank & Trust Company |
| Anna Irene Marten, Union Electric Company |
| Nelka C. Mooney, Commerce & Finance Library – St. Louis University |
| Ethel Murch, Social Planning Council |
| Albert J. O’Brien, First National Bank |
| Elizabeth O’Connor, Kansas – City Public Library |
| Allen G. Ring, Mallinckrodt Chemical Works |
| Julian F. Smith, Hooker Scientific Library, Kansas City, Mo. |
| Mary R. Zelle, Applied Science Dept., St. Louis Public Library |
| The March 1942 SLATE Announced New Chapter Members: |
| Michael Koch, Western Cartridge Company |
| Helen M. Miller, College of Engineering, Univ. of Arkansas, Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Isolae Stoye, Grove Laboratories (Transferred from Illinois Chapter) |
| Marian Potts, Rural Electrification Administration (Transferred from Washington Chapter) |
| The May 1942 SLATE Announced New Chapter Members: |
| Robert K. Johnson, Central College |
| Edna C. Woblin, Bethany College, Lindsborg, Kansas |
“There had been February, March, April and May 1942 meetings, and the Chapter membership included representatives of chemical companies, utilities, food and beverage companies, newspapers, banks, defense industries, government agencies and councils, both federal and municipal, and public and school libraries distributed throughout the greater St. Louis area and in Illinois, Arkansas and Kansas. With a youthful enthusiasm, the Greater St. Louis Chapter showed the greatest percentage of paid membership (100%) of any SLA Chapter during 1942. Accordingly, the Chapter was awarded the President’s Gavel. This honor was tendered at the General Session of the National SLA Convention in Detroit in June, 1942, and was accepted by Willard K. Dennis an behalf of the New St. Louis Chapter.”
IDA MAE HAMMOND, the first President of the Greater St. Louis Chapter, left our City to accept a position in Detroit, and the Vice President, Allen Ring, became President. He inaugurated a newsletter and as its first editor, designed the logo, and named it the SLATE. The first issue was published in February, 1942, and over the years has had several different formats. It was bound and housed at St. Louis Medical Society and at Union Electric Libraries until recently when it was moved to the Library of the Missouri Botanical Garden. During the past two years, Constance Pfaff and Mary Bires, Archivists, have done a great job of weeding, classifying and indexing the SLATE and other materials according to the official rules for SLA archives.
After winning its first award, the President’s Gavel in 1942, the pattern of achievement was set. In 1943, Ethel Murch Gwinner, Membership Chairman, received the $25.00 war bond for the largest increase in Chapter membership and Mrs. Gwinner Generously donated the bond to the Chapter.
During the war years, 1941-45, all libraries were gathering books to send to the devastated libraries of Europe. SLA, through its Foreign Relations Committee, was a leader in this project. After the war, the Committee set up a Scholarship for foreign librarians. It was our good fortune to have two librarians spend several weeks in St. Louis observing and learning American methods. Anne Margrethe Lovaas name from Norway in 1946; Kishori Sanzgiri, Assistant Librarian of the Federal Reserve Bank in Bombay, India was with us in 1948. The SLA convention, which was to be held in Chicago in 1945, was cancelled because of the war, and a “Convention in Print” was substituted. All business was transacted by mail, and all convention papers were presented in subsequent issues of Special Libraries.
Dr. Gerald Orne, Director of Libraries at Washington University, tried hard to persuade the Administration to establish a Graduate School of Library Science at the University, but the request was denied because of a shortage of faculty and funds. However, permission was given to inaugurate a library program in University College that would lead to a library certificate. The first two courses were taught by Dr. Orne and Elizabeth Owens in the fall of 1947. Since that time more courses have been added and many of our members have earned certificates and degrees. Dr. Andrew Eaton, Louis Nourse, Jamie Graham, William Wilkinson, Jenny Preston, Donell Gaertner and Audrey Powderly have taught some of the classes.
Dr. William Fitzgerald, Director of Libraries at St. Louis University and Chapter President, was instrumental in founding the St. Louis Library Club in 1948. He felt that a united group could do much to advance librarianship in our area. The Club has thrived over the years and many SLA members have been its leaders. Together, we have been hosts to many library programs. The Chapter meets with the Club at least once a year – sometimes to discuss common problems, new technologies, or just to have a pleasant social time together.
In the early years, the Headquarters office in New York assigned to us new members from Western and Southern states where there were no chapters. At various times, we have had members from Oklahoma, Kansas, Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky, Colorado as well as Illinois and Missouri. The first of our siblings to break away was the very lively group from Kansas City, which became the Heart of America Chapter in 1948. Many joint meetings have been held with them since that time, usually in some Mid-Missouri city. One of the most enjoyable and highly publicized was the popular St. Louis Radio Program, “A Quiz of Two Cities” with the contestants being three each from the two Missouri chapters of SLA.
“The Fifties”
At the Atlantic City Convention in 1950, Elizabeth Owens was elected President of SLA. Estelle Brodman, of the New York City Chapter, was a member (the youngest) of that Executive Board. The mid-winter meeting of the Board was held at the Statler Hotel and the Greater St. Louis Chapter served as gracious official hosts. In that year, Constance Pfaff began her long years of work as Chairman of the SLA Scholarship and Student Loan Fund, serving in that capacity until 1956. In 1952-53, she was the Chapter’s representative for the National Financial Division and was the coordinator of the series of articles on Special Libraries that ran in Banker’s Monthly. In 1958, she was a nominee for Director of Special Libraries Association.
Upon the death in 1952 of Allen Ring, Charter Member and first SLATE Editor, a contribution of $275.00 was made to the SLA Scholarship and Student Loan Fund. The initial $100.00 was a gift from Mr. Edward Mallinckrodt, Chairman of the Board of Mallinckrodt Chemical Works. Allen, a polio victim, was a brilliant chemist and librarian, and a tower of strength and inspiration to the young chapter. The suggestion that other chapters and individuals make similar gifts to the scholarship fund was made to the Executive Board of SLA and was accepted with enthusiasm. The cooperation of all divisions in sponsoring special events for the Fund was outstanding-and the growth of the Fund phenomenal.
The Professional Award was given to Elizabeth Owens in Boston in 1957 for: “Bringing Special Librarianship to the grass roots level as Librarian, Teacher, Consultant, Public Speaker.”
At the 50th Anniversary Conference in Atlantic City in 1959, she was the keynote speaker.
Chapter participation in special events began in 1943 with an exhibit at the AAAS convention and the American Gas convention in 1953. In 1957, members joined Public and University libraries in presenting a Seminar of “Library work as a Career.” Visiting Association officers were interviewed during the year by local radio and TV stations. As a result of this excellent publicity, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch assigned one of its best feature writers, William Woo, now Chief of the editorial page, to write a series of articles on local special libraries. At the American Personnel and Guidance Council Convention, an exhibit on the “Challenge of a Library Career” was very popular. A similar project was presented in December 1968, when ALA, MLA, SLA, Catholic Library Association, and the St. Louis Library Club joined the Missouri Library Association in manning a booth at the Gateways to Careers Conference. This was a week long meeting under the auspices of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the Industrial Relations Club, and was held at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel. The following year, the Chapter cooperated with the other library associations in an equally successful program that was held at the Arena.
“The Sixties”
Immediately after the war, librarians became aware of the need for more cooperation with other libraries in their immediate areas. To meet this need, the St. Louis Chapter agreed to lead the way by making plans for a UNION LIST OF SERIALS. Years of work followed – listing the holdings of 37 local libraries. It was published in 1960 with the title, “A Union List of Serials of the Greater St. Louis Area.”
The Preface States:
The Union List of Serials is a project of the Greater St. Louis Chapter of the Special Libraries Association. A great deal of work has gone into its preparation since it was suggested and implemented by Valborg Jacoby and her Officers in 1953. The work has been carried on by various members of the Chapter in spite of almost overwhelming odds.
The editorial pattern was set by Leslie Taylor, former Serials Librarian of St. Louis University, assisted by Mrs. Mary R. Zelle of the St. Louis Public Library. When Mr. Taylor left the city, the work was carried on by Miss Delta Barber and her faithful workers. It is to them that we owe a sincere expression of gratitude. The project was brought to its satisfactory conclusion only because they had the tenacity to persevere and the courage to overcome many obstacles.
We are grateful to them for this valuable key to the resources available in the Special Libraries in this area.
Elizabeth W. Owens
Early in 1962 after the hectic years of preparing the first Union List, the Chapter relaxed through the presentation of a play entitled, “This is your Life.” To quote from the Introduction:
| “And now, fellow librarians and friends, we wish to show a typical day in the special library. This episode is based on true happenings, which you will recognize as we proceed. Our typical library is in the main office of Laclede-Union-Lion-Universal Corp., better known by its ticker symbol LULU. The library is presided over, of course, by Miss Lulu Librarian. And now, friends, librarians – “This is your Life”— |
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(please excuse our actors for reading their lines)
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Script by Peggy Pautler, Krupnick & Associates
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CAST OF CHARACTERS
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(In order of appearance)
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| Lulu Librarian … Charlotte Perabo (Monsanto) |
| Assistant Librarian … Peggy Madden (Monsanto) |
| New Man … Efren Gonzalez (Grove Labs) |
| Office Boy … Efren Gonzalez (Grove Labs) |
| President’s Dumb Secretary … Connie Ford (Union Electric) |
| Rising Bright Light … Efren Gonzalez |
| Cleaning Lady … Connie Ford |
| Presented at a Scholarship Fund Raising “Mardi Gras” party held at Ellenwood House, Washington University, February 24, 1962. |
| (Reported in the SLATE, Vol. 21, no. 4, March 1962, p. 3) |
As the country recovered from the war, all library activities accelerated and almost every day a new periodical was received, or a new service was offered. SLA realized that its members were qualified to handle these new materials, but organizations needed to know more about us – what we could do, where we could be reached. An extensive publicity program was launched with Peggy Madden as Chairman. For her enthusiasm and the splendid coverage she obtained, she was given the Proctor and Gamble Award for Publicity in 1963. To expedite the voluminous amount of information, it became essential to leave the old ways and go to the new – mechanization. in our Chapter Bill Wilkinson was the first to use the new processes by producing in 1957 a computerized book catalog for organic chemistry at Monsanto. In 1962 he and Peggy Madden published a similar catalog to be used by all divisions and offices of Monsanto – in this country and abroad.
Estelle Brodman came to St. Louis in 1962, after serving as visiting Professor at Keio University, Tokyo, Japan, to become Librarian and Professor of Medical History at Washington University School of Medicine. From her years at the National Library of Medicine in Washington, D.C., she brought with her a dedicated zeal for mechanization in libraries. She was a pioneer in computer technology and the transmission of scientific information. With her knowledge and enthusiasm, coupled with that of the Monsanto staff, new technologies for libraries came to St. Louis.
OCLC (Ohio College Library Center) was introduced to our area with a grant from the Missouri State Library, and Doris Bolef, of the Washington University Medical School, was Director of the project under Dr. Brodman. St. Louis Public Library, Olin Library, and Eden Webster Libraries were each provided with a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Terminal – on line to a computer in Columbus, Ohio. The Medical School was the first to use it in the St. Louis area. PHILSOM (Periodical Holdings in Schools of Medicine) was initiated and developed under Dr. Brodman’s direction, first, as an in-house system. It now provides service for over 20% of medical libraries in the country. At the Denver Conference in 1963, Estelle Brodman was the keynote speaker. She stressed the importance of the new approaches to information retrieval to librarians, and her inspiring message brought a standing ovation. President Lyndon Johnson appointed Dr. Brodman to the President’s Committee on Libraries for 1968-1970 — the first woman to serve on that Committee.
The 200th anniversary of the founding of St. Louis by the French was the occasion for many celebrations. The Spanish controlled the territory for a few years, and in 1803, St. Louis came under the American flag via the Louisiana Purchase. To do our part in the festivities, we invited SLA to come to the City of the three flags in 1964. The Convention was held at the Sheraton-Jefferson Hotel with James Jones, Director of Libraries at St. Louis University, as the General Chairman. One or the outstanding events was a moonlight boat ride on the SS Admiral. This excursion on the Mississippi was the annual benefit for the Scholarship Fund and was sponsored by the Metals Division. More than $2,000 was raised, the largest contribution ever made up to that time.
The annual banquet brought back a taste of the old days with its “Bill of Fare” reflecting the languages of the three flags. Entertainment was a presentation of the oldest of the temperance plays, “The Drunkard” by the Goldenrod Showboat Players. Music was furnished by the St. Louis Ragtimers with their revival of traditional jazz, authentic ragtime and folk music which made for a swingin’ good time.
ALA had also invited its members to come to St. Louis for its annual meeting, and we had agreed to help our sister association in every way. So we caught our breath, put on our shoes, and went to work. Two international library conventions in six weeks – busy, busy, but fun! A summer to remember.
The St. Louis Chapter planned the mechanics of the Convention. Eleven committees functioned under the direction of the Convention Chairman James V. Jones, Director of Libraries, St. Louis University; 23 local librarians provided liaison between the Divisions and the Convention Committee.
| The following Executive Committee and Convention Committee Chair-men were appointed: |
| Convention Program: *Efren W. Gonzalez, Grove Laboratories, Inc. |
| Convention Treasurer: William A. Wilkinson, Monsanto Company |
| Exhibits: *Andrew Eaton, Director of Libraries, Washington University |
| Hospitality: *Mrs. Elizabeth W. Owens, Union Electric Company |
| Information: *Constance A. Pfaff, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis |
| Local Arrangements: Mrs. Mabel L. Sarber, Transportation Material Command |
| Meals and Banquet: Constance Ford, Union Electric Company |
| Printing: Noel C. Holobeck, St. Louis College of Pharmacy |
| Publicity: Charles J. Guenther, Aeronautical Chart and Information Center |
| Registration: *Margaret E. Madden, Monsanto Company |
| Transportation and Tours: Rosalind M. Dean, Falstaff Brewery |
| * Convention Executive Committee, and in addition: |
| Chapter President: Francis B. O’Leary, School of Medicine, St. Louis University |
| ALA Convention Co-Chairmen: *Andrew Eaton, Director of Libraries, Washington University; *Louis M. Nourse, Director, St. Louis Public Library |
The wealth of new materials created a demand for those qualified to handle them quickly and efficiently, and the answer – more special librarians. A vigorous recruitment campaign began throughout the Association. During National Library Week in 1964, St. Louis helped meet the challenge by starting the “Librarian for a Day” program. Local high school students were invited to attend through this appeal to the High School Librarian:
“Send one outstanding Senior student . . . to be a guest at a Special Library for one day. We feel this will be a revealing and worthy introduction to the little known but fascinating career of Special Librarianship.”
The response was overwhelming. It brought the Chapter the Ford Award for the best recruitment plan of the year at the 1965 Conference in Philadelphia. It was included in recruitment material sent by Headquarters and was used by other chapters. We continued ,that program and used many other recruitment ideas during the chairmanship of Connie Ford in 1966, Helen Silverman in 1967, and Alma Girand in 1968. The John Cotton Dana lectures were popular recruitment tools. They were given at graduate library schools in the U.S. and Canada and aimed at bringing special libraries and their Potentialities to the students. Efren Gonzalez, Peggy Madden, and Elizabeth Owens were among the speakers.
The Association continued its recruitment activities with vigor during the next five years as new libraries were established and older ones expanded. Peggy Madden, who served as SLA Recruitment Chairman, won the H. W. Wilson Award for her outstanding campaign in 1968. Peggy was a candidate for the presidency of Special Libraries Association in 1969 and lost the election by the smallest of margins.
A Graduate School of Library and Information Science at the University of Missouri (Columbia) was authorized in 1966 with Dr. Ralph Parker as Dean. Enrollment began in 1967, and in 1968 the school graduated its first class of 21 students, which made it eligible to apply for accreditation. In 1969 the American Library Association announced accreditation of the school. In its first two years, sixty students were graduated. Dr. Estelle Brodman, Dr. Harold Holland, and Dr. Edward Miller were on the faculty. Many of our members have graduated from the school — some as full-time students, others part-time students at Columbia or from the extension division in St. Louis. A special library program was presented at the new library school by Connie Ford and Peggy Madden in the spring of 1968.
The Library Technical Assistants Program on the Florissant Valley campus of the St. Louis Community College was started in under the supervision of Betty Duvall, Librarian. During the years, this popular program has flourished and is now offering more courses than its original four. Many of our libraries have benefited from the excellent training being given for paraprofessionals.
At the Minneapolis Conference in 1966, Elizabeth Owens was inducted into the SLA Hall of Fame for long service to Special Libraries Association. Jamie Graham was elected Secretary of the Aerospace Division for 1966-67.
Robert Schumacher, editor of SHOW-ME LIBRARIES, asked the Chapter in 1968 to prepare a series of articles on special libraries in the St. Louis area. The project was chaired by Doris Bolef and the following twelve articles appeared in SHOW-ME LIBRARIES from 1969 – 1970. Headquarters was so impressed with the series that they published it in 1972 – an attractive booklet entitled “Special Libraries Sketchbook.”
| SHOW-ME LIBRARIES Series (1969-1970) Published in 1972 as “Special Libraries Sketchbook” |
| 1) Information Center at Monsanto Provides World Wide Service. William Wilkinson. March, 1969 |
| 2) Medical Library at Washington University Meets Challenge of Change. Estelle Brodman. May, 1969 |
| 3) St. Louis Police Library Meets Changing Emphasis on Law Enforcement. Edith McQuitty, June, 1969 |
| 4) Post-Dispatch Library Geared to Deadlines – “Editor’s Best Friend.” Roy T. King. July, 1969 |
| 5) Missouri Botanical Garden Library is One of the State’s Priceless Resources. Eugenia Maddox. August, 1969 |
| 6) Gardner Library provides facts for Firms’ Advertising. Jane D. Groves. September, 1969 |
| 7) “Reddy” Reference at Union Electric. Constance Ford. October, 1969 |
| 8 ) McDonnell Aircraft Library helps Launch Space-age Idea. Charles E. Zoller, November, 1969 |
| 9) Dynamic Library Supports Vital Economic Research at Federal Reserve Bank. Constance Pfaff. December, 1969 |
| 10) Concordia Library is Major Source for Theological Success. Lucille Hager. January, 1970 |
| 11) Library within a Library-Education Department, St. Louis Public Library. Eileen M. Franke. February, 1970 |
| 12) St. Louis County Law Library. Mary Dahm. March, 1970 |
| A later series called “Library Profiles” appeared in the SLATE in 1975-78. |
| 1) Maritz Motivation Library. Patty S. Slocombe. November, 1975. |
| 2) St. Louis College of Pharmacy. Helen Silverman. February, 1976 |
| 3) St. Louis City Art Museum – -Richardson Memorial Library. Ann B. Abid. May, 1976 |
| 4) Petrolite Corporation Library. Jo Anne Rensing. November, 1976 |
| 5) Medical Center Library – St. Louis University. Francis B. O’Leary, June, 1977 |
| 6) New Library Profile – Consolidated Aluminum. Jane McLaughlin. March, 1978 |
At the Los Angeles Conference, Constance Ford was elected Chairman of the Public Utilities Division for 1968-69, and Constance Pfaff was named a member of the SLA Nominating Committee for the same years.
The first computer produced Union List of Serials in the greater St. Louis area was published by the Higher Education Coordinating Council (HECC) in February, 1969 under the Chairmanship of Bill Wilkinson. The List served primarily as a title-finding instrument and included 19,309 titles held by 37 libraries.
Paxton Price was named Director of the St. Louis Public Library upon the retirement of Louis B. Nourse. Former State Librarian, Mr. Price came to St. Louis from the U.S. Department of Education.
Dr. Andrew Eaton was one of 15 American librarians awarded a fellowship by the Council on Library Resources – “To study modern management techniques and become familiar with changes in administration.”
The Heart of America Chapter was our guest at a luncheon and tour of the new library at the University of Missouri St. Louis in the Spring of 1969. Dr. Estelle Brodman, featured speaker at the meeting, talked on machine methods in libraries.
Later that spring, Betty Duvall, librarian at Florissant Valley Community College, sponsored a three-lecture series on library work as a career. Charles O’Halloran, Missouri State Librarian, Dr. Ralph Parker, Dean of the UMC Library and Information Science School, and Elizabeth Ovens were the speakers. In the fall Constance Ford was a speaker at a State meeting for library interns in Jefferson City. Her topic – “A Library Career in Special Libraries.”
A symposium of Machine Methods in Libraries, started by Dr. Brodman in 1965, continued for several years. In 1969 five trainees in computer librarianship began a year of work there under a grant from the Public Health Services.
At the 10th Annual meeting of the American Records Management, Peggy Madden was one of the featured speakers. Her topic was “Electronic Data Processing Systems for Indexing Technical Reports.” Each student was advised by a member of an expert committee on computer sciences, and Bill Wilkinson was one of this distinguished group of advisors. That the use of machine methods in information retrieval was uppermost in the minds of our members is illustrated by the topics discussed at a 1969 fall meeting:
- Recent advances in library technology.
- Emergence of computer time sharing.
- Advantages of the computer over the key punch method.
- Xerox.
- Telecopiers.
At the 10th Annual meeting of the American Records Management, Peggy Madden was one of the featured speakers. Her topic was “Electronic Data Processing Systems for Indexing Technical Reports.”
“The Seventies”
As we leave the sixties and enter the seventies, we feel the increased tempo in the profession. New libraries are covering a world of new subjects, and old libraries are expanding their horizons and serving their entire organizations in ways they have not done before. The seventies will be known for the emergence of computer operation in libraries, on-line retrieval, mini-computers, microcomputers and networks.
With the increased use of machine methods to reproduce library materials, it is not surprising that the publishing companies called for a review of the Copyright Law of 1909. The controversy between publishers and librarians over what could be reproduced went on for years, with librarians winning one point and publishers winning the next one. The main problem seemed to relate to the reproduction of tapes and audio-visual materials rather than to book materials. At most conferences during the seventies, lengthy discussions on the copyright law took place and many excellent papers were presented. The late Dr. Frank McKenna, former SLA President, was a leader in the fight and was successful in obtaining some favorable changes in the proposals. However, the law finally ratified in 1978 was not entirely satisfactory to special libraries.
Our members continue to bring us high honors. In 1970 Charles Guenther, Librarian of Aeronautical Chart and Information Center, called our “Lyrical Special Librarian”, received the great honor of being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for his book, Phrase/Paraphrase. The first part of the book consists of his own poems, and in the last part, “Paraphrase,” are some of his masterful translations. The book was also on the ALA Notable Book List. In 1972 he read some of his poetry at the Library of Congress where it was taped for the Library’s Archives of Recorded Poetry. Italy’s highest decoration, the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic with the rank of commander, came to him for his translation of Italian poetry. He has also won the James Joyce Award of the Poetry Society of America for his delightful poem, Missouri Woods. The Missouri Library Association Award, as well as the French-American Bicentennial Medal, were honors in 1974. He has won both the Webster Review translation prize and the Witter Bynner poetry translation grant of the Poetry Society of America for his English translation of a collection of French poems by Jean Cocteau. In June of 1979 he received an Honorary Degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (LiTT.ll) from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville.
Missouri Woods
Post oak, white oak, black oak, Ozark rails,
shake roofs and fences split with maul and froe:
remember the timberland, the vanished trails.Laid, lapped and panelled, propped or locked with nails,
the zigzag fences stretching row on row –
post oak, white oak, black oak, Ozark rails.Tables and staves and dishes, pitch-lined pails
curled from a blade and fashioned long ago,
remember the timberland, the vanished trails.Cradles and coffins, rafts loaded with bales,
bolts, blocks and pickets, handles for hammer and hoe:
post oak, white oak, black oak, Ozark rails.Logs hollowed for john boats, poles for paddles and sails –
their stubble and stumps poke up the crusted snow.
(Remember the timberland, the vanished trails?)The blown out nest, the branch that cracks and fails
are lost from the land where only the birds know.
Post oak, white oak, black oak, Ozark rails:
remember the timberland, the vanished trails.
— Charles Guenther
Jamie Graham was the subject of a splendid and richly deserved article in the Washington University Magazine which was titled, “Biography of a Biographer.”
During these years, Estelle Brodman added more honors to her long list as she received the Marcia C. Noyes Award for “Distinguished Librarianship” from the Medical Library Association in 1971. In 1972 she wrote the article on Special Libraries for the Encyclopedia Americana. At the dedication in 1975 of the Library for Health Services of the University of Illinois School of Medicine at Chicago, she delivered the keynote address, and the honorary degree of Doctor of Sciences was conferred upon her at that time.
Peggy Madden served as President of the National Microfilm Association (St. Louis Chapter) 1972-73. In June of 1972 she was named “First Lady of the !Day” by Radio Station WRTH. Doris Marshall was elected a member of the institute of Information Specialists in London.
Gilles Frappier, President-elect, was the honored guest of the Chapter in 1972. Efren Gonzalez, now of the New Jersey Chapter and our St. Louis Chapter President in 1959-60 was elected President of SLA for 1971-72.
That our first thirty years ended on a high note is evidenced by the account of the 30th anniversary party held at Le Chateau in December, 1971. The SLATE of December, 1971 gives the following account:
“Charter members present at the 30th anniversary party at Le Chateau on December 8 were Mrs. Virginia Dowdall Bradshaw (President, 1943-44), and Mrs. Gertrude Ault, Widow of Frederick Ault. Elizabeth Owens presided as mistress of ceremonies and the program, including reminiscences of the past-presidents in attendance, was in turn touching and hilarious. Reliving the savings bond caper (a savings bond was awarded as a prize to the Chapter and was put away for safe keeping, never to be found again), and the instance when incoming president Jean Ashman was told by the treasurer that the treasury was lost (it was later found) illustrate the light-hearted tone of the evening. The retrospective, humorous look at the Chapter’s 30 year history was refreshing and encouraging.”
In the appendix are letters sent to the Chapter by those unable to attend. (Please note these were scanned pictures of letters and are omitted from this web version.)
(Informal Chronology picture from 12/8/71 SLATE omitted from this web version.)
McDonnell-Douglas libraries were greatly expanded in 1970-71. In June, 1970, the entire library of the Douglas Advanced Research Laboratory was moved from Huntington Beach, California to St. Louis. The Engineering Library, headed for many years by Charles Zoller, was moved from its location on the engineering campus to the new facility. Presently it is called the Research and Engineering Library with Charles Zoller as the Branch Manager, and Phyllis Fischer, Librarian of the Research Library. The Corporate Library was moved to St. Louis earlier in the year from Santa Monica, California, with Virginia Raynes as the Manager; Michael Knoll is the present librarian. The Mc/Auto Campus Library was established in 1981 by McDonnell-Douglas Automation Company. Jenny Preston is the Supervisor, Stephanie Tolson the librarian.
The third edition of the Directory or Libraries in the St. Louis Area was a joint effort of HECC and SLA. Five hundred letters were sent to large companies asking for information about their libraries. Two hundred replies were received and 171 listings were recorded. These libraries, along with public, industrial and academic libraries, make up the Directory. Peggy Madden (Monsanto) and Karen Luebbert (Eden Webster) were the Editors.
The enthusiasm of the Chapter for new SLA projects has been increased by attendance at the annual conferences; in many cases the count has been between twelve and twenty members. The policy of the Chapter has been to send both the President and President-elect to the mid-winter meeting, as well as the annual meeting, and their lively reports have been stimulating. After the 1973 conference in Pittsburgh, we were proud to find Virginia Raynes as Chairman of Documentation, Jamie Graham, Chairman of Urban Affairs, and Larry Walton, Chairman of Food and Nutrition.
The formation of a Mid-Missouri Chapter was proposed in 1972 and approved by the Executive Board in 1973. Dr. Edward Miller was the organizer and first President. We were sorry to lose these faithful members from our Chapter, but happy to see our association growing so rapidly in this part of the country.
Doris Marshall and Larry Walton served as Co-chairmen of a chapter sponsored one-day seminar on “Food and the Consumer.” It was held at Stouffer’s Riverfront Inn on October 13, 1973. It was widely attended by food librarians, home economists, and Chapter members. Some excellent papers were given. A net profit of $270 was earned from the Seminar.
We were especially honored when Connie Ford was elected an SLA Director for the years, 1974-77. Connie has been an active member of the Public Utilities Division which was the first division to start the student guest program. It was their suggestion that when a Conference was held in a city or near a graduate library school, students should be invited to attend Division events. Connie was named Chairman of this activity and at the 3cston Conference in 1972, students from Simmons College attended events as guests of the Public Utilities Division – A first for the Association. The next year other divisions joined in. The program became so successful that it has been continued as an Association program at every conference since that time. Connie also served as Secretary of the Nuclear Science Division, 1971-73. She was installed as a Director at the Toronto Conference. At the same conference, Nancy Stoddard conducted a seminar sponsored by the Newspaper Division and Virginia Raynes served as Moderator of two panel discussion groups.
Jean Ashman, Distinguished Librarian at the Washington University School of Law, retired on July 1, 1974. She was Chapter President in 1957-58, and President of the American Association of Law Libraries in 1949-50.
Jamie Graham conducted a seminar on Urban Affairs at Washington University in January, 1974.
Doris Marshall was appointed a member of the SLA Nominating Committee for 1975-76. A widely expanded role –For the Missouri Botanical Garden Library was announced in 1974 when James R. Reed was appointed Director of Libraries and Curator of Special Collections.
Interest in automation accelerated in the mid-seventies. A meeting at the Public Library, under the leadership of the CATV Coordinator, James Lyons, had as its subjects, “Telecommunication technology can be used for better information retrieval” and “Are we as librarians prepared for future shock of the new technologies?” This discussion session was followed in November by a joint meeting with the National Microfilm Association at the Red Carpet Inn. The speaker, Anthony Miele of the Illinois State Library, discussed the development of the Illinois Microfilm Catalog, as well as other microfilm and computer applications such as MARC, OCLC, and Networks.
In February of 1975 a workshop was held at the Public Library with a speaker from Systems Development Corporation who discussed available data bases. A demonstration of searching the New York Times Data Bank was done by Mimi Goldsmith and James Michael. A description of OCLC was given and demonstrations of the Public Library’s terminal followed.
At this time it was decided to have two editors of the SLATE with one continuing for a second year. Lori Calcaterra of Olin Library and Connie Wolf of the Missouri Institute of Psychiatry were the first to serve in the dual role.
Miriam Tees, SLA President-elect and Director of McGill University School of Library Science, was a guest of the Chapter.
Dr. Edward Miller was appointed Dean of the UMC School of Library and Information Science succeeding Dr. Ralph Parker upon his retirement.
Helen Henderson was active as the SLA representative to LEM Library Education and Manpower Committee of the Missouri Library Association.
Our chapter and the Illinois Chapter held an all day meeting at Springfield. A luncheon followed a business meeting and then a tour was made to many of the historic spots in the city. This was our second meeting with the Illinois chapter. The first one was in 1965 when a large group enjoyed a day at the opening of the John Deere Library in Moline.
Jamie Graham served as Chairman of the Urban Affairs section of the Social Science Division and acted as Chairman of the Nominating Committee of that Division for 1975-76.
Nancy Stoddard and Virginia Raynes recommended that the chapter consider changing its name so that “St. Louis” would come first, thereby identifying our location more specifically, The name “St. Louis Metropolitan Area Chapter” was suggested and presented to the SLA Executive Board where it met with some opposition. However, when the logic behind the request was given by our own Director, Connie Ford, permission was granted to change the name in 1976.
The question was barely settled when we were involved in of all things – a boundary dispute! The Illinois Chapter had asked the Executive Board to have all Illinois members assigned to their chapter. This meant that our members, who lived across the river in Illinois but worked in Missouri, would be lost to us. Again our Director came to the front. She explained the geographic situation and listed those who would be affected. They, too, wrote to the Board to protest the change. In 1977 we were given all members who lived in St. Clair, Madison, Monroe and Jersey counties in Illinois. At the same time, county boundaries between the three Missouri chapters were defined. The Chapter by-laws were changed to show the new name of the Chapter and to specify the exact boundaries of the four chapters involved. A two-year term of office was suggested for the Treasurer. Recommendation was made to the Nominating Committee to have the Treasurer serve a second year, if possible. The by-laws were not changed.
In the spring of 1976 representatives of the Catholic, Missouri, Medical and Special Library Associations met to plan for greater cooperation between the various groups. They suggested more reciprocal borrowing, centralized delivery service, and more emphasis on career development.
At the Denver Conference, sixteen members were in attendance. Again we were honored by important appointments: Doris Marshall, Chairman of the Food and Nutrition Division, Virginia Raynes, Chairman-elect of the Division Cabinet, and James Reed, Chairman of the Environmental Information Division. Mary Hebert, Librarian of the Blue Cross Hospital Service, had the pleasure of moving into a beautiful new library in their recently completed building on Forest Park Boulevard.
When Mark Baer, SLA President-Elect, visited the Chapter, he stated that the Government Printing Office has been a problem to librarians for some time. To get some answers, the SLA Executive Board voted to finance a documented inquiry of “What’s wrong with the Government Printing Office?”
In October 1976, the Missouri Historical Society Bulletin published an article by Elizabeth W. Owens entitled, “The Year was 1908; a Personal Reminiscence.”
At the Christmas party at Le Chateau on December 6, 1976, four retirees were guests of honor. Charles Guenther from the U.S, Aeronautical Chart and Information Center, our distinguished poet and past Chapter President (1969-70); Eleanora Henerey, longtime Patent Librarian at Monsanto Company; Roy T. King, SLATE Editor (1952-53) and “Dean” of the newspaper Division; and Constance Pfaff after 30 years at the Federal Reserve Bank, a past Chapter President, (1950-51), member of almost every committee and devoted worker in the Association’s Business and Finance Division. All four are cherished members who have given years of noteworthy service to the Chapter and Association.
In 1977 mention was made of the long lost war bond which had been won in 1943 for the greatest increase in chapter membership. The Chairman gave her prize to the chapter, but somewhere along the line, it was misplaced. Chapter President Larry Walton wrote to the War Bond Office in Washington and received a voluminous number of forms to be signed to prove our ownership, our honesty, and our intent not to defraud the government. After considerable correspondence, notarization of documents, the full amount of $25.00 was restored to our Treasury.
Connie Wolf, co-editor of the SLATE, was elected President of the St. Louis Medical Library Association which has a membership of more than one hundred members. Nancy Stoddard was elected Archivist of the Newspaper Division at the New York Conference, a position she still holds. Harold Holland, our President for 1974-75, left for Pahlavi University in Shiraz, Iran, where he spent two years (1977-79) in study and teaching. Dr. Andrew Eaton, Director of Libraries at Washington University, had two periods of foreign teaching Teheran University in Teheran, Iran in 1974-76 and the University of Hawaii in 1979-80.
In November the Chapter enjoyed an evening at the new American Optometric Association’s International Library, Archives and Museum of Optometry which is located at 243 N. Lindbergh. Our hostess was Linda Draper, Cataloger/Technical Services Supervisor at this most interesting and unusual library.
Four of our esteemed members retired in 1978: Alma Richards, Chapter President 1973-74, Head of Cataloging at Eden-Webster, who now makes her home in Sun City, Arizona; Paxton Price, Director of St. Louis Public Library; Sybille Meredith, Reference Librarian at Monsanto; and Edith McQuitty, Librarian of the St. Louis Police Academy where many law enforcement officers from other cities have come to study this unique library.
In the spring of 1978 it was announced that a White House Conference on Libraries and Information Services would be held in Washington in 1979. State Conferences were to convene in November of 1978, and the resolutions agreed upon were to be sent to the White House Conference. Estelle Brodman, Connie Ford, and Bill Wilkinson were members of the State Advisory Committee and were official delegates to the Missouri Governor’s Conference on Libraries and Information Services November 30-December 1, 1978. Other delegates to Jefferson City were: Joan Collett, Donell Gaertner, Loretta Lemee, Betty Schramm and Connie Wolf.
Before the Governor’s Conference, “Speak-outs” were held throughout the State. About 250 interested citizens attended the local “speak-outs” in the city and county area, and resolutions were drawn from their remarks and presented to the Governor’s Conference. Resolutions from the State Conference were then taken to Washington where the final suggestions from all the states were to be made into official guidelines. We were honored to have Joan Collett as one of the eight official representatives from the State of Missouri. From May 1980 to date, she is the Regional Professional Delegate (Region IV) and from 1981 to date, she serves on the steering committee of WHCLIST (White House Conference on Library and Information Services Task Force).
The St. Louis Regional Library Network was formed when 16 institutions employing chapter members joined. Three are on the governing board: Betty Schramm, representing St. Louis County Library, a permanent member institution; James Reed, Representative at Large; and Larry Walton, representing Special Libraries. The Network was given a grant of $33,000 from the Missouri State Library to hire a coordinator and to set up an administrative office. Committees will organize a delivery system, investigate Info-Pass, and coordinate bibliographic access. Cathye Bunch of the Community College was elected chairman.
The Chapter received great news at the 1978 Conference in Kansas City when it was announced that we have our first scholarship winner. She is Mary Ann Burritt of the library staff at Pet, Inc., who will use her scholarship to attend the Graduate School of Library Science at Rutgers University. The Scholarship Fund has always been close to our hearts, and we have contributed to support it from its beginning. Over the years we have contributed to it as individuals and as a chapter, in memory of those who have gone from us.
Frederick Ault — 1968
Mary R. Zelle — 1970
Rosalind Dean — 1972
Louis Nourse — 1973
Margaret Vinton — 1978
Virginia Raynes — 1978
Ruth Hirsch — 1979
Loretta Lemee — 1982
When the copyright law was finally ratified in 1978, the Association was deeply concerned about its effect on special libraries. Vivian D. Hewitt, SLA President-Elect, visited us on February 15, 1978 and discussed the problem involved. She stated that it was the general opinion that the Association manual on the copyright law was considered by many people to be the best explanation of the new law. She suggested further that each Special library have the law studied by its own legal department. At the regular meeting at the Mallinckrodt Corporate Center on March 28, a copyright workshop was held. The panelists were Juanita McCarthv, Bill Wilkinson, Barbara Halbrook of the Medical School Library, and Ann Watts of the Public Library. Their topics were:
1) What Provisions of the copyright law affect you?
2) What is your library doing to comply or not comply?
3) What alternatives are you using to obtain copies?
4) Comments on record keeping required by law.
The three Missouri Chapters met in Jefferson City where Susannah Alexander, Assistant State Librarian, outlined the program of the Missouri Networks. A coordinator of each of the state districts discussed the development of Networks in their individual district. Bill Wilkinson was appointed to the Board of the Missouri Library Networks.
Again we have important appointments on the Association level with the announcement that Jamie Graham was elected Chairman of the Positive Action Committee for 1978-79; Doris Marshall was named a member of the Standards Committee and Larry Walton was designated General Program Chairman for the National Conference in Washington, D.C. in 1980.
The meeting at St. Louis County Library gave us an update on two vital subjects. Sheila Merrill, Coordinator of the St. Louis Regional Library Networks, explained the ways in which it is cooperating with the other state networks. Current projects include a document delivery system, Info-Pass, the NET Newsletter, and the active role the organization is playing in developing an on-line state bibliographic data-base. The other speaker, Karen Luebbert, discussed further on-line bibliographic database matters. The goal is to design a system that would fulfill the diverse needs of all libraries in the state. A survey is being made of the state’s fifteen hundred libraries requesting information on the wants and needs of each participant.
In May of 1979, the joint meeting of the Greater St. Louis Library Club and the St. Louis Chapter SLA was an escorted tour to Union Electric’s Nuclear plant near Fulton, Missouri – in the “Kingdom of Callaway.” A bus full of librarians and guests left the Westroads parking lot on a Saturday morning, arriving at the plant by 11:00 a.m. A tour, lunch at the “Nuclear” Cafe, and a stop at the Churchill Memorial Library in Fulton on the way back filled a pleasant and informative day.
One of the interesting reports of the 1979 Honolulu Conference was the announcement by the Scholarship Committee that the Fund is now able to give three awards of $5,000 each and three stipends (formerly known as Minority Scholarships) of $1,500 each to be awarded annually. That report was especially exciting to our chapter representatives when one of the winners named was Kirk Gregory who is employed in the Circulation Department of the Washington University School of Medicine Library.
At the Christmas party on December 16, 1979 at Le Chateau, Mary Bires, Reference Librarian at St. Louis University Pope Pius Library, was honored upon her retirement. Mary, Chapter Archivist and editor of the SLATE in 1970-71, has also served the Catholic Library Association and the St. Louis Library Club in many capacities. Upon her retirement she received a special citation from the University, the 1979 Alumnae award from Carlow College (her alma mater in Pittsburgh) and the Seat of Wisdom Award from the Catholic Library Association. The Women’s Commission of St. Louis University honored her with a plaque and a scroll “for her outstanding professional competence and her devoted unselfish service to the students and faculty of St. Louis University.”
“The Eighties”
In March of 1980 a mini-computer workshop was given at Holiday Inn and all special librarians were invited to attend “whether or not they saw a computer in their future.” Eight topics were discussed by outstanding speakers. Among them were Jeanine E. Prickett and Bill Wilkinson who spoke on “Monsanto’s application using minicomputers,” and Mary Aversa on “Doane’s experience with mini-computers.”
Monsanto announced in 1980 that all of its information material had been computerized and is available not only here at its St. Louis Headquarters, but to all Monsanto offices located around the world.
Some of our members joined the mid-Missouri Chapter in welcoming James Dodd, President-elect of SLA at Columbia and participated in the festivities honoring Dr. Ralph Parker, Dean Emeritus of the School of Library and Information Sciences.
At the Washington Conference our Chapter was represented by 15 members. Larry Walton was especially active as General Program Chairman, and the excellent results of his two years of hard work made us very proud. Nancy Stoddard was a panelist on Automation of a news clipping collection”, and Jamie Graham was chairman of the dinner meeting sponsored by the Positive Action for Minority Groups.
Dean Emeritus Ralph Parker was voted honorary member of the Special Libraries Association and a reception was held in his honor. The icing on the cake came when it was announced that Roy T. King, former chief librarian of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, received the Award of Honor from the Newspaper Division – “in recognition of his pioneer efforts in newspaper microfilming and his long devoted service to the Division.” At the Conference the Plenum Scholarship for 1981-82 was announced. This grant of $1,000 is made possible through the generosity of the Plenum Publishing Company and is for graduate study leading to a doctoral degree at recognized schools of library and information science in the U.S. and Canada. Constance Ford was a member of the first Plenum Committee to study the use of the grant.
A Library Preservation Workshop brought enthusiastic response when it was held at the Missouri Botanical Garden on June 4-5. It was sponsored by the St. Louis Regional Library Network, the Higher Education Coordinating Council, The Learning Resources Council, and the Missouri Botanical Garden. Conservation problems, preservation policies, environmental controls, disaster planning and technological development in library conservation were the topics given by six distinguished speakers, one of whom was James R. Reed.
Mary Aversa attended the on-line user meeting in Chicago in July, and was one of the panelists at the seminar on “Administration of On-line Users’ Groups.”
During the summer the Technical Assistants Program at FVCC announced the expansion of its course offerings to be taught at the St. Louis County Library. One course called “Application of Library Systems” was designed to introduce students to data processing methods applicable to library systems and the other course was “Introduction to Records Management.” Suzanne Gill, Director of the program at FVCC, is the author of a new book – “File Management and Information Retrieval: A Manual for Managers and Technicians,” published by Libraries Unlimited, 1980.
The St. Louis On-line Users Group opened its membership to the Metropolitan area libraries. The group has been established to exchange information among on-line users, to provide educational programs for searchers, and to acquaint them with on-line search service available in our area.
The Fall 1980 issue of The Serials Librarian contained a splendid article by Jenny Preston entitled, “Missouri Union List of Serial Publications.” Jenny was the editor of a 1977 publication of the St. Louis Union List of Periodicals, a supplement to the 1975 edition edited by Loretta Stucki.
Washington University has issued the 1980 revised edition of the Black Studies Bibliography – Part I: the U.S., with Jamie Graham as the compiler. It is a record of 4,134 titles in the John Olin Library and its branches concerning Afro-Americans. This bibliography was selected to use for the first time the McGill University System for Interacting Computers (MUSIC).
A dinner meeting at the Art Museum concluded a very busy year. Doris Marshall and Jamie Graham as new retirees were honored. Charlotte Perabo gave a sketch of Doris’ very active life and professional career which included long years of service to SLA on both local and association levels. Lori Calcaterra warmly reviewed Jamie’s personal and professional career and thanked her for the time and counsel she has given to the Chapter. The Association is grateful for the work she has done with its newest program, “Positive Action for Minority Groups.” Ann B. Abid, our hostess, gave us a tour of the newly enlarged and refurnished quarters of the Richardson Memorial Library.
At the mid-winter meeting in Portland, Oregon in January, 1981, it was stated that SLA had 12,030 members. The Association’s finances were in good order showing a $89,629 surplus for the year. This was due to the revenues from the Washington Conference, the continuing education -programs, new memberships, and high interest rates. That was good news, of course, but the best news was that our distinguished member, Dr. Estelle Brodman, was to receive the prestigious John Cotton Dana Award at the Atlanta Conference in June. The award, named for the Founder and first President of SLA, “is granted in recognition of exceptional services by members of Special Libraries Association to Special Librarianship.” Dr. Brodman is only the fourth person to receive this award and surely no one deserves it more.
At a dinner meeting at the Salad Bowl on March 18, 1981, members enjoyed a very special program honoring the retirement of Harriet Steuernagel, Librarian of the Washington University School of Dental Medicine, and Estelle Brodman, Librarian and Professor of Medical History at the Washington University School of Medicine. Kathy Gallagher gave a sketch of Harriet’s active personal and professional life. Her contributions to dental librarianship have been many and impressive. Although her retirement date was October 1980, she has continued to work as a consultant at the dental library. Audrey Powderly reviewed Dr. Brodman’s long and outstanding career as author, editor, medical librarian, international teacher, and her great contribution to the new technologies for libraries. Dr. Brodman gave a warm and enthusiastic talk, “American Special Librarianship, 1940-1980.” She discussed how changes in size, education, and instrumentation have contributed to an entirely different way of life for present day librarians.
The Chapter received an invitation to the First Estelle Brodman Fund lecture given on May 18 at Erlanger Auditorium in the new McDonnell Building at the School of Medicine. Dr. Eugene Garfield of the Institute of Science, editor of Current Contents and founder of the Science Citation Index discussed “The Transmission of Scientific Information.”
The joint dinner meeting on May 14, 1981, of the Greater St. Louis Library Club and SLA was held at the Missouri Historical Society, with Tony Crawford, Assistant Director for Library and Archives, serving as host. A wine and hors d’oeuvre reception was arranged by Mary Ann Gibson and Mary Aversa. Following the business meetings of both clubs, they joined in paying honor to Charlotte Perabo, retiring Business Librarian of Monsanto. Juanita McCarthy gave the tribute for both clubs since Charlotte has served as President of both. The location was particularly appropriate because Charlotte has given many volunteer hours to the Society and plans to give even more during her retirement. Tony Crawford concluded the evening with an interesting review of the Missouri Historical Society – its proud heritage, its services, and its exciting plans for the future.
Jo Ann Rensing, Manager of Research Services at Petrolite Corporation, has been appointed SLA representative to the coordinating board of the Higher Education Library Advisory Committee. The St. Louis On-Line Users Group elected Doris Marshall its first Honorary Member in 1981.
A Brown Bag Seminar on special libraries was enjoyed by many People who work downtown. It was sponsored by the University of Missouri, St. Louis Extension Division. The public was invited to hear the discussion, “How business libraries can help you.” The panelists were: Sally Beck – May Company; Constance Ford – Union Electric; Elizabeth Kirchner – Mercantile Library Association; Leah Matthews – Southwestern Bell; and Larry Walton – Pet, Inc.
Nineteen members went to Atlanta for the 1981 Conference where Doane Agricultural Service hosted an open house for Chapter members and friends with Mary Aversa serving as official hostess. Kay Flowers was elected Treasurer of the Environmental Information Division, 1981-82. The highlight for the Chapter was the awards banquet where Dr. Estelle Brodman received the John Cotton Dana Award.
Charles Guenther added one more honor to his long list when he was awarded a $3,000 Fellowship by the St. Louis Arts and Humanities Commission.
The Heart of America and Mid-Missouri Chapters were our guests at a meeting on September 13 at the Missouri Botanical Garden. James Reed, Director of the Library, spoke on “Disaster Planning.” The talk was followed by a visit to the fascinating Bookworkers’ exhibit which featured the best work since 1900 in binding, illustration, and calligraphy. This delightful meeting ended with an hors d’oeuvre reception.
At the MLA annual conference in late September, the three Missouri Chapters cosponsored a workshop on cooperative collection development. More than twenty chapter members participated in the Seminar on special libraries which was chaired by Barbara Robinson of the Washington, D.C. Library Council.
The St. Louis Regional Library Network – hosted a reception at the Missouri Historical Society on October 28 with Missouri Legislators as guests. The subject was “Libraries and the Legislative Process.” A slide tape presentation explained the purpose of the Network, the activities, and the benefits that the Network system can provide for the citizens of Missouri.
Dr. Boulton Miller of the Business School at Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville, spoke on “Information Management” at the meeting at Scott Air Force Base on November 19. The Air Weather Service technical library and the computer area, where weather data questions are handled, were visited on the tour. Dinner at the NCO club concluded an interesting day.
The September 1981 issue of the St. Louis Commerce magazine featured several special libraries in the metropolitan area in an article by free lance writer, Kenneth Kress, entitled, “All you need to do is ask.” The author visited a number of our libraries and talked to their librarians. Larry Walton said that three St. Louis Corporate Libraries – Anheuser-Busch, Ralston Purina, and Pet, Inc. – provide the strongest collections for the food and nutrition industries in our country. Ann Abid, our consultant, explained the free counseling provided to organizations interested in establishing Information Centers; Kay Flowers gave an excellent resume on the start and growth of the new library at Environdyne Engineers, Inc.,; Michael Kroll of McDonnell-Douglas said the purpose of that library “is to supply the best information when it is needed.” Mary Aversa explained the use of computers at Doane Services.
At Ralston Purina the Information Center was visited and its access to data bases was reviewed; Barbara Halbrook of the Medical School library told of the first data base offered by the National Library of Medicine in 1972. She said, “where before we could do a maximum of fifty manual searches a month, with the computer we can do 500.” Pope Pius XII Library was cited as the “most esoteric”, and the Missouri Botanical Library, he noted, was rated as one of the five finest botanical libraries in the world.
The 40th anniversary of the founding of our Chapter was celebrated with a dinner on March 8, 1982 at Nikolaison’s Sunset 44, with our International President, George Ginader, as the honored guest. Elizabeth Owens gave a brief history of the forty years, 1941-1981. Mr. Ginader spoke to the group on the “Impact of Information Technology on Special Libraries.” He emphasized in his address where we as information professionals should be going in the future. He and Mary Aversa, our Chapter President, were interviewed on KMOX-FM earlier in the day, and the interview was broadcast on the following Sunday.
As we review the highlights of our first forty years, we see tremendous growth in libraries and librarianship. We see incredible changes in techniques as mechanization widens and expedites information retrieval. Truly, it is a whole new world.
We are proud of our Chapter’s growth, its achievements, its unusual honors won, not only in the library field, but in other areas of interest and talent as well. With our enthusiastic, knowledgeable young members coming up, we look forward to even more triumphs as they continue to follow the SLA Motto — PUTTING KNOWLEDGE TO WORK.
A GREAT AND EXCITING FUTURE LIES AHEAD
APPENDIX
Chapter Presidents
SLATE EditorsLetters From 30 Anniversary (1971) (Omitted from web version … unable to scan.)New Libraries (1971-81)
SLA Awards and Honors
Chapter Presidents:
(*Deceased)
| Years |
Name |
Presiden’ts Origianl Affiliation |
| 1941-42 |
Ida Mae Hammond |
Ralston Purina Company |
| 1942-43 |
Allen G. Ring* |
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works |
| 1943-44 |
Virginia Dowdall |
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company |
| 1944-45 |
Willard K. Dennis |
Parks Air College |
| 1945-46 |
Anna Irene Marten |
Union Electric Company |
| 1946-47 |
Elizabeth W. Owens |
Mercantile-Commerce Bank and Trust Co. |
| 1947-48 |
Dr. William Fitzgerald* |
St. Louis University, School of Medicine |
| 1948-49 |
Marion A. Murphy |
Washington University, School of Medicine |
| 1949-50 |
Krimhilde Williams |
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company |
| 1950-51 |
Constance Pfaff |
Federal Reserve Bank |
| 1951-52 |
Alberta Barkley
Dorothy Drach |
Monsanto Chemical Company
Engineering Library, Washington University |
| 1952-53 |
Audrey Kargus |
St. Louis Medical Society |
| 1953-54 |
Valborg Jacoby |
Anheuser-Busch, Inc. |
| 1954-55 |
Richard Levine |
Laclede Gas Company |
| 1955-56 |
Catherine Roberts |
Qunnes Work |
| 1956-57 |
Constance Ford |
Union Electric Company |
| 1957-58 |
Joan Ashman |
Washington University, Law Library |
| 1958-59 |
Wilma Davis |
Laclede Gas Company |
| 1959-60 |
Efren Gonzalez |
Grove Laboratories |
| 1960-61 |
Magatet Madden |
Monsanto Company |
| 1961-62 |
Rose Cramer |
Washington University, School of Medicine |
| 1962-63 |
William Wilkinson |
Monsanto Company |
| 1963-64 |
Frances O’Leary |
St. Louis University, School of Medicine |
| 1964-65 |
Jamie Graham |
Washington University, Social Science Bibliographer |
| 1965-66 |
Alma Girand |
Pet Research Center, Greenville, Illinois |
| 1966-67 |
Charlotte Perabo |
Monsanto Company |
| 1967-68 |
Harriett Steuernagel |
Washington University, School of Dentistry |
| 1968-69 |
Rosalind Dean* |
U.S. Corps of Engineers |
| 1969-70 |
Charles Guenther |
Aeronautical Chart |
| 1970-71 |
Helen Silverman |
St. Louis College of Pharmacy |
| 1971-72 |
Helen Henderson |
U.S. Veterans Hospital |
| 1972-73 |
Doris Marshall |
Ralston Purina Company |
| 1973-74 |
Alma Richards |
Eden-Webster Libraries |
| 1974-75 |
Harold Holland |
University of Missouri, Department of Library Science |
| 1975-76 |
Virginia Raynes* |
McDonnell-Douglas Corporation |
| 1976-77 |
Nancy Stoddard |
St. Louis Post-Dispatch |
| 1977-78 |
Laurence R. Walton |
Pet, Inc. |
| 1978-79 |
Betty Schramm |
St. Louis County Library |
| 1979-80 |
Juanita McCarthy |
Mallinckrodt, Inc. |
| 1980-81 |
Connie Wolf |
Missouri Institute of Psychiatry |
| 1981-82 |
Mary Aversa |
Doane Agricultural Service |
| 1982-83 |
Lori Calcaterra |
Washington University, Olin Library |
Bulletin Editors – The SLATE
First Issue: Vol. 1, No. I – February 1942
| Years |
Name |
Affiliation |
| 1942 |
Allen G. Ring |
Mallinckrodt Chemical Works |
| 1942-43 |
Virginia Dowdall |
Southwestern Bell Telephone Company |
| 1943-44 |
Willard K. Dennis |
Parks Air College |
| 1944-45 |
Anna Irene Marten |
Union Electric Company |
| 1945-46 |
Bonnie Dewes |
D’Arcy Advertising Company |
| 1946-47 |
William A. Fitzgerald |
Medical School, St. Louis University |
| 1947-48 |
Norman G. Hatchman |
Veterans Administration Branch Office No. 9 |
| 1948-49 |
Valborg Hendrickson |
Anheuser-Busch, Inc. |
| 1949-50 |
W. J. Vitali |
Western Cartridge Company |
| 1950-51 |
Dorothy M. Drach |
Sever Library, Washington University |
| 1951-52 |
Alberta Barkley |
Monsanto Chemical Company |
| 1952-53 |
Roy King |
St. Louis Post-Dispatch |
| 1953-54 |
Richard Levine |
Laclede Gas Company |
| 1954-55 |
Jane Groves |
Gardner Advertising |
| 1955-56 |
Constance Ford |
Union Electric Company |
| 1956-57 |
Camilla Bergfeld |
Parks Air College |
| 1957-58 |
Efren Gonzalez |
Grove Laboratories, Inc. |
| 1959-60 |
William A. Wilkinson |
Monsanto Chemical Company |
| 1961-62 |
Frederick C. Ault
Charles Zoller |
Municipal Reference Library
McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Company |
| 1962-63 |
Constance Ford |
Union Electric Company |
| 1963-64 |
Alma Girand |
Pet Milk Company |
| 1964-65 |
Virginia Caswell |
McDonnell-Douglas Aircraft Company |
| 1965-66 |
Francis O’Leary |
School of Medicine, St. Louis University |
| 1966-67 |
Rosemary Caldwell |
St. Louis Public Library |
| 1967-68 |
James Becker |
Municipal Reference Library |
| 1968-70 |
Doris Marshall |
Ralston Purina |
| 1970-71 |
Mary Bires |
St. Louis University, Pius XII Library |
| 1971-72 |
Ann B. Abid |
St. Louis Art Museum |
| 1972-75 |
Larry B. Walton |
Pet, Inc. |
| 1975-77 |
Lori Calcaterra
Connie Wolf |
Washington University, Olin Library
Missouri Institute of Psychiatry |
| 1977-78 |
Lori Calcaterra
Linda Rothbar |
Automobile Club of Missouri |
| 1978-79 |
Mary Aversa
Linda Rothbart |
Doane Agricultural Service
|
| 1979-80 |
Peggy Zabel
Mary Aversa |
Ralston Purina
|
| 1980-81 |
Karen Chapman
Peggy Zabel |
Monsanto Company
|
| 1981-82 |
Joan Pupava |
Mallinckrodt, Inc. |
NEW LIBRARIES 1970 – 1981
| ACF Technical Center |
| American Optometric Association |
| American Soybean Association |
| Automobile Club of Missouri |
| Bank Building Corporation |
| Booker Associates |
| Catholic Health Association, US |
| Consolidated Aluminum |
| Doane Agricultural Services, Inc. |
| Emerson Electric Company |
| Environdyne -Engineers, Inc. |
| General Dynamics |
| George Johnson Advertising |
| Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum, Inc. |
| Internal Revenue Service |
| Irene McCloud, Something Special |
| Kellwood Company |
| Lewis Howe Company |
| Lewis & Clark Library System |
| McAuto (McDonnell Douglas) |
| Maritz Motivation Company |
| Mercantile Trust International Library |
| Montplaiser and Company (Columbia) |
| Norcliff Thayer Mfg. Facility |
| Peat, Marwick and Mitchell |
| Popkin, Stern, Heifetz |
| St Louis Legal Aid Society |
| Seven Up Company |
| U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Columbia) |
| Washington University, Math/CSDP Library |
SLA AWARDS AND HONORS
| 1942 President’s Gavel (100% paid membership) |
| 1943 $25-00 War Bond (Greatest increase in membership) Ethel M. Gwinner |
| 1957 Professional Award – Elizabeth W. Owens |
| 1963 Proctor & Gamble Publicity Award – Peggy Madden |
| 1965 Ford Recruitment Award (“Librarian for a Day” program) |
| 1966 SLA Hall of Fame – Elizabeth W. Owens |
| 1968 H. W. Wilson Recruitment Award – Peggy Madden |
| 1978 Student Scholarship Award – Mary Ann Burritt (Pet, Inc.) |
| 1981 John Cotton Dana Award – Estelle Brodman |