Essae Martha Culver

Essae Martha Culver
Born	November 15, 1882 Emporia, Kansas
Died	January 3, 1973 (aged 90) Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Nationality	American
Occupation	Librarian
Known for	President of the American Library Association

Essae Martha Culver (November 15, 1882 – January 3, 1973) was a American librarian, the first state librarian of Louisiana and President of the American Library Association.

Culver was born in Emporia, Kansas to Joseph Franklin Culver and Mary Murphy Culver. She was the youngest in a family of four boys and four girls. She graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, California in 1905 with a major in piano and voice. Working in the college library led to an interest in librarianship. She attended the New York State Library School from 1907 to 1908 but left that program early to join the Public Library of Salem, Oregon.^[1]

From 1912 to 1925, Culver held a variety of positions with the California State Library and in county libraries across the state. In 1925, she moved to Louisiana to be the executive secretary of the Louisiana Library Commission. She was later named the first state librarian of Louisiana. Culver also worked to establish a library school at Louisiana State University. Culver directed a project to establish public libraries in rural Louisiana, funded by a grant of $50,000 from the Carnegie Corporation.^[2]

Culver was elected president of the Louisiana Library Association in 1928, and the organization named a distinguished service award for her in 1964. She was president of the League of Library Commissions and the Southwestern Library Association. She was also the seventh woman president of the American Library Association from 1940 to 1941.^[3]

Culver retired in 1962 and she died in Baton Rouge on January 3, 1973, of respiratory failure. ^[4][5]

Awards and Honors

• Joseph W. Lippincott Award for distinguished librarianship (1959)
• Honorary doctorate from Pomona College and Louisiana State University

References

1. Currier, L. G. (1959). "The lengthened shadow: Essae M. Culver and the Louisiana State Library". ALA Bulletin 59: 35–37.
2. Jumonville, Florence M. (Spring 2004). "The Role of the State in the Organization of Statewide Library Service: Essae M. Culver, Louisiana 's First State Librarian". Library Trends 53. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
3. "ALA's Past Presidents". American Library Association. Retrieved 6 March 2016.
4. Culver, Essae M. (1953). "Louisiana State Library [and Its Predecessors, 1909–53]". Bulletin of the Louisiana Library Association 16: 18–20, 41–48.
5. "Essae Martha Culver (1882-1973)". Know LA – Encycolpedia of Louisiana. Retrieved 6 March 2016.