A Vital Factor in the Community
Recovering the Life and Legacy of Chicago Public Librarian Vivian G. Harsh
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 15436857 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Melanie Chambliss (corresponding author) |
| Year | 2021 |
| Volume | 106 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 411-438 |
| Publication date | 2021-06-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Journal of African American History (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1548-1867 • E-ISSN: 2153-5086 |
| Publisher | University of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US) |
| DOI | 10.1086/714085 |
| OpenAlex | W3194073471 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 13 |
In 1931, Vivian Harsh was hired as the head librarian of the George Cleveland Hall library, and her appointment was one of the most consequential decisions in shaping what this branch would become. Under Harsh’s direction, the Hall library functioned as a social and intellectual center for African Americans living in South Side Chicago because it was the first full branch to serve the city’s growing Black population. Harsh relied heavily on her early upbringing, professional training, and personal interests as a leader, but her story has been obscured for the last several decades because she was labeled an “enigma” due to her private nature and limited personal records. This recovery of Harsh’s public and private selves reveals her complicated dedication to her career and community. In order to appreciate how the Hall library became so significant, we have to understand the woman at its helm
Art history · Business · George (robot · Management · Order (exchange · Political science · Population · Sociology · Demography · History · Law · Library Science and Administration
| Highly cited | No |
|---|