LHRT (Library History Round Table)

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The mission of the Library History Round Table (LHRT) is to encourage research and publication on library history and promote awareness and discussion of historical issues in librarianship.

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Dorothy Louise Porter Wesley--Librarians We Have Lost, Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026

  • 1.  Dorothy Louise Porter Wesley--Librarians We Have Lost, Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026

    Posted 14 hours ago

    Dorothy Louise Porter Wesley (May 25, 1905 – December 17, 1995)

    black-and-white photo of woman smiling at camera

    Image from Library of Congress 

    As the first African American to receive a library science degree from the Columbia University School of Library Service, Dorothy Porter was a life-long pioneering librarian, bibliographer and curator of African American history and culture. As head librarian at Howard University, she helped build the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center into a world-class collection. When she found the Dewey Decimal system woefully inadequate for organizing materials on the African American experience, she created a new classification system, extending far beyond Dewey's limited headings of slavery and colonization. She and husband, Dr. Charles Wesley, collaborated on Journal of Negro Life and History for the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History. Dorothy Porter Wesley left a legacy of numerous publications and seminal research.

    Sources:

    Pace, Eric (December 20, 1995). "Dorothy Porter Wesley, 91, Black-History Archivist". The New York Times. Retrieved December 11, 2025.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_B._Porter

    The National Park Service Carter G. Woodson National Historic Site.

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    In honor of the Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary of ALA) in 2026, the Library History Round Table is hosting Librarians We Have Lost, Sesquicentennial Memories -1976-2026.  This collage of tributes seeks to honor librarians who died between 1976-2026.  The tributes are published to ALA Connect and a digital memorial on LHRT News & Notes.  

    We invite tributes from anyone about any library worker who passed away between 1976-2026. To submit a tribute, please use the form at https://lhrt.news/librarians-we-have-lost-sesquicentennial-memories-1976-2026-2/ 

    For questions or comments, please reach out to Dr. Kathleen McCook (kmccook@usf.edu) or Brett Spencer (dbs21@psu.edu).



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    Brett Spencer
    Reference Librarian
    Thun Library, Penn State Berks
    He/Him/His
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