Beatrice Winser Papers

Series

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

These papers consist of general and specific correspondence, 1935-1944, as well as information on federal aid to libraries, 1935-1939; on John Cotton Dana Day in 1935; on the appointment of Archibald MacLeish as Librarian of Congress, 1939; on various personnel problems in the early 1940s, and on her resignation in 1942. The general and specific correspondence include letters to and from Winser, the bulk of which is professional in nature, including her views on the roles of women in libraries (1918); letters regarding her term on Board of the American Library Association (1930-1935); reference queries to Winser and Dana (1925-1928); material on the death of John Cotton Dana as well as correspondence with the Schoolmen's Club regarding a tablet erected in Dana's honor; a "memorandum" book with notes and a few photographs (ca. 1925); and a bookplate designed for Beatrice Winser by John Cotton Dana.

Three folders of correspondence, reports, and statements exist regarding federal aid to libraries (1935-1939), which Winser opposed; and one folder of correspondence (1940) exists regarding library assistants assigned to the Newark Public Library through the WPA.

"John Cotton Dana Day" was celebrated on October 6, 1935, and Winser was actively involved in its planning. Her papers contain correspondence, addresses, programs, invitations, etc…

In 1939 President Roosevelt appointed Archibald McLeish, the poet, as the Librarian of Congress. Winser vehemently opposed this appointment on the grounds that he lacked any library experience. Included in these papers are correspondence, clippings, statements, etc…, as well as copies of her open letter to the President.

A significant portion of this collection is related to Winser's abrupt resignation from the Newark Public Library in 1942, after 53 years of employment. Her resignation was due to a dispute with the Board of Trustees regarding various personnel issues. Publicly, Winser's rationale for her resignation was summed up by the question: "Does the Librarian or the Board of Trustees manage the staff of the Library?" Privately, she stated that "religion and politics [had] entered the doors of the Public Library of Newark ... The Catholic Church is no longer a religion but a powerful political body and is getting an strangle-hold on the United States." (BW to the Right Rev. Beverley D. Tucker, Jr., Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio, September 12, 1942.) Marguerite L. Gates, a librarian and an assistant to Winser, resigned at the same time. At the time of Winser's resignation, Dr. Samuel L. Hamilton of 240 Montclair Avenue, a Professor of Education at New York University, was chairman of the Library's Board of Trustees.

Materials relating to the resignation of Miss Winser in 1942 include correspondence to and from Winser and library staff, Newark school librarians, and librarians and friends from across the country; resolutions and statements from NPL staff and staff associations; and press releases, letters to the editor, etc…

Dates

1846 - 2019

Creator

Winser, Beatrice, 1869-1947 (Person)

Biographical / Historical

Beatrice Winser, the eldest daughter of Henry J. Winser and Edith Cox Winser, was born in Newark in 1869 and educated in Germany, where she became fluent in French and German. She attended Columbia University’s Library School and studied with Melvil Dewey. She came to the Newark Public Library in 1889, became Assistant Librarian in 1894 at the age of 25, and served as Acting Librarian briefly in 1901. When John Cotton Dana (1856-1929) came to lead the library in 1902, she soon became his trusted Assistant Librarian, helping to administer both the Library and Newark Museum (founded in 1909). In 1915, with Dana's support, Winser was appointed as the first woman member of the Newark Board of Education. She also served as president of the New Jersey Library Association, twice, in 1907-1908 and 1921-1922.

After Dana's death in 1929, she became Librarian of the Newark Public Library, serving in that position until 1942. She also became the Director of the Newark Museum, serving in that position from 1929 to 1947. During the Depression, she served as Chairman of the New Jersey Sub-Committee, Works Progress Administration (WPA), Federal Art Projects, and she wrote the preface to The WPA Guide to New Jersey, which was overseen by the Federal Writers Project. She resigned from the Newark Public Library in 1942 and retired from the Newark Museum in 1947. She died in Newark, of heart disease, on September 14, 1947.