Marilla Waite Freeman
| Marilla Waite Freeman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 21 February 1871 Honeoye Falls, New York |
| Died | October 29, 1961 White Plains, New York |
| Burial place | Honeoye Falls Cemetery, Honeoye Falls, New York |
| Occupation | Librarian |
| Parents |
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Marilla Waite Freeman (February 21, 1871-October 29, 1961) was a prominent librarian known for her innovative ideas in library service. At the time of her retirement from the Cleveland Public Library in 1940, she was "one of the best known and most beloved librarians in the country."
Marilla Waite Freeman's father, Rev. Samuel Alden Freeman was a descendant of John Alden, and the family of her mother, Sarah Jane Allen, could be traced back to Miles Standish.
Freeman is reported to have been born on February 21, 1871; however, this date is only an approximation. According to the book Open Shelves, Open Minds, her birthdate "can be ascertained only from personell and pension records at the Cleveland Public Library." since Freeman was "reticent about her age, kept it a secret, and gave no date of birth in the many biographical sketches that were published." The date on her tombstone is 1870.
Freeman began her career as a staff member of the University of Chicago library while a student there, and she joined the American Library Association in 1893. She graduated from the university in 1897 with a Ph.B. degree in literature. Her first position after graduating was as a Library Assistant at the Newberry Library in Chicago under the direction of William F. Poole. Freeman took a course of study at the New York State Library in 1900 to officially become a librarian.
Freeman organized the creation of the small public library in Michigan City, Indiana and also served as the first director of the Davenport Public Library in Iowa in October 1902. She left Davenport in February 1905 to take a position as Head of the Reference Department at the Louisville Free Public Library upon its opening. In June 1908, Freeman was granted a leave of absence from the library to deliver nine lectures at the New York State Library School on the organization and administration of small public libraries. Freeman resigned from Louisville Free Public Library in March 1910 to accept a position at the Free Public Library of Newark in New Jersey.
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