William Howard Brett
| William Howard Brett | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
July 1, 1846 Braceville, Ohio |
| Died | August 24, 1918 (aged 72) Cleveland, Ohio |
| Nationality | American |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Occupation | Librarian |
| Known for | Open Access Libraries & Children's Libraries |
William Howard Brett (July 1, 1846 – August 24, 1918) was head librarian for the Cleveland Public Library from 1884 to 1918. American Libraries described him as one of the "100 most important leaders (librarians) had in the 20th century"
As Cleveland Public Library’s head librarian William H. Brett introduced the "open shelf"idea to the library system and increased the collection to over 3 million books and periodicals before his death. Mr. Brett lobbied and received funding to build library branches in the city neighborhoods. William Brett believed in professional development and training in librarianship and so spearheaded a program at Western Reserve University (now Case Western Reserve University) and later became dean of the "library school" established in 1903. Mr. Brett continued his contributions to the profession by being president of the American Library Association, founder and first president of the Ohio Library Association, and passionate writer. One interesting fact is that W. H. Brett was a civil war veteran and was instrumental in the installation of "library service to the US soldiers and sailors in America, France, and other locations".
William Howard Brett started his career in the field of library science at the young age of fourteen. Warren High School, "where he was the youngest student", asked him to be their librarian and he accepted. As reported in Portrait of a Librarian, a lifelong friend and classmate, William C. Cochran, remembered that "he (Brett) knew every book in the library, its place on the shelves and what it contained between its cover". After his first year of college at the University of Michigan, William Brett moved to Cleveland, Ohio, married Alice Allen, started a family, and distinguished himself in the wholesale book distributing business. In 1884, he was appointed the head librarian for the Cleveland Public Library.
William and Alice Brett had five children, four sons and one daughter, including George Brett and William H. Brett Jr..
The Cleveland Public Library became one of the first "large system libraries" in the country to implement the "open shelf" system. Mr. Brett wanted a library where the users had free and open access to the collection and could select their own books without going through a librarian. William Brett was also forward thinking when he solicited Andrew Carnegie for funds to build branch libraries around the city. Brett wanted to have libraries dedicated to the public that were located in their neighborhoods and within walking distance of their schools, work, and homes. In 1918, the Cleveland library had grown to 728 branches not including the Main Library. Mr. Brett continued to blaze trails when he seized the opportunity to rearrange the library collection into "divisional arrangements" which separated the reference and circulating books by major categories and dedicated a staff to each subject matter. This plan was considered "uneconomical and impracticable as a permanent working plan". The success of this administrative organization and library layout is evident in our library systems today thanks to William Brett and his "vice-librarian", Linda A. Eastman. In order to achieve the goal of creating libraries that patrons would want to use, William Howard Brett set out to increase the library’s collection of books and periodicals. By 1915, the Cleveland Library was considered "third among the great libraries of the country" because of its circulation numbers. It was reported in The Open Shelf Memorial Number that Mr. Brett built the library collection from 50,000 books in 1889 to over 3 million books in circulation before his death in 1918.
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