LHRT (Library History Round Table)

Frances Lander Spain (1903 – 1999) was the first children's librarian elected president of the American Library Association (1960-1961).  She was Head of Children's Services at the New York Public Library.

She earned the B.A. in library science from Emory University in 1936 and the MA and PhD from University of Chicago Graduate Library School .

Spain returned to South Carolina and served as director of the Winthrop University Library (Rock Hill South Carolina) where she also taught instructional classes. She was president of the South Carolina Library Association in 1947.

  She became the assistant director of the University of Southern California Library School in 1948 and taught courses in children's literature. She  was chair  of the Intellectual  Freedom Committee of the California Library Association in 1951 and 1953.

 Spain received a Fulbright Grant and traveled to Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. She  helped establish a one-year degree in library science at the university and worked to create a more formal library system in all of Thailand. She established various committees and groups that eventually organized to become the Thailand Library Association in 1954.

 In 1953 Spain was appointed  coordinator of children's  services at the New York Public Library, where she served until 1961. From 1954 to 1959 she served as editor of the "Books for Young  People" section of the Saturday Review and as visiting lecturer  to the graduate library schools at  Columbia University,  Syracuse  University, Rutgers University and the Pratt Institute.

In 1960, Spain became the first children's librarian to  become president of the American Library Association.  As the first children's librarian to lead the ALA, Spain emphasized the value of children's library services, advocating for their integration into broader library systems and promoting literacy through enhanced resources and programs. She guided the ALA in addressing contemporary challenges, such as improving library education and standards. Her presidency saw efforts to strengthen the association's role in shaping national library policies.  Spain's global perspective, informed by her work in Thailand, influenced her push for the ALA to support international library development, fostering connections with librarians worldwide.

In 1961 Spain was one of seven members of the American  Exchange Mission of Librarians who participated in a U.S.A.-U.S.S.R.  cultural exchange program.

After retirement from NYPL she became library director at Central Florida Junior College in Ocala. Florida and retired again in 1971.

Selected Publications

• 1940 – School Library Standards. Thesis, M.A. University of Chicago, Graduate Library School.
• 1947 – Libraries of South Carolina: Their origins and early history, 1700–1830. Library Quarterly, 17: 28–42. (Summary of Doctoral Thesis)

• "The Selection and Acquisition of Books for Children." Library  Trends 3 (April 1955): 455-61.

• "Teaching Library Science in Thailand ." Wilson Library  Bulletin 27 (December 1952): 314-17.

• 1956 – Reading Without Boundaries: essays presented to Anne Carroll Moore on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the inauguration of library service to children at the New York Public Library. (ed.) New York, N.Y.: New York Public Library.
• 1960 – The Contents of the Basket: and other papers on children's books and reading. New York, N.Y.: New York Public Library.
• 1960 – Upon the Shining Mountains. ALA Bulletin, 54: 599–602. (ALA Presidential Inaugural Address)^[18]

Sources:

• Chepesiuk, R.J. (1977). Frances Lander Spain; An Annotated Bibliography, 1940–1971. (attached).
• Donald G. Davis (January 2003). Dictionary of American Library Biography: Second supplement. Libraries Unlimited.
• Kniffel, L., Sullivan, P., & McCormick, E. (1999). "100 of the Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century." American Libraries, 30(11), 46..
• Williams, R.V. (1986). Interview with: Frances Lander Spain. University of South Carolina. https://digital.library.sc.edu/ischooloralhistory/frances-lander-spain/frances-lander-spain-transcript/

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Kathleen de la Peña McCook
Distinguished University Professor
School of Information
University of South Florida
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