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University of California Berkeley of California Oral History Office University Regional California The Bancroft Library Berkeley, Library School Oral. History Series and Leaders Series University of California, Source of Community Flora Elizabeth Reynolds S ENOUGH": FORTY YEARS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA "A DUKEDOM LARGE PUBLIC AND ACADEMIC LIBRARIES, 1936-1976 With an Introduction by Charles and Grace Larsen Interviews Conducted by Laura McCreery in 1999 the of California Copyright O 2000 by The Regents of University Since 1954 the Regional Oral History Office has been interviewing leading participants in or well-placed witnesses to major events in the development of northern California, the West, and the nation. Oral history is a method of collecting historical information through tape-recorded interviews between a narrator with firsthand knowledge of historically significant events and a well- informed interviewer, with the goal of preserving substantive additions to the historical record. The tape recording is transcribed, lightly edited for continuity and clarity, and reviewed by the interviewee. The corrected manuscript is indexed, bound with photographs and illustrative materials, and placed in The Bancroft Library at the University of California, Berkeley, and in other research collections for scholarly use. Because it is primary material, oral history is not intended to present the final, verified, or complete narrative of events. It is a spoken account, offered by the interviewee in response to questioning, and as such it is reflective, partisan, deeply involved, and irreplaceable. ************************************ All uses of this manuscript are covered by a legal agreement between The Regents of the University of California and Flora Elizabeth Reynolds dated June 14, 1999. The manuscript is thereby made available for research purposes. All literary rights in the manuscript, including the right to publish, are reserved to The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. No part of the manuscript may be quoted for publication without the written permission of the Director of The Bancroft Library of the University of California, Berkeley. Requests for permission to quote for publication should be addressed to the Regional Oral History Office, 486 Bancroft Library, Mail Code 6000, University of California, Berkeley 94720-6000, and should include identification of the specific passages to be quoted, anticipated use of the passages, and identification of the user. The legal agreement with Flora Elizabeth Reynolds requires that she be notified of the request and allowed thirty days in which to respond. It is recommended that this oral history be cited as follows: Flora Elizabeth Reynolds, " A Dukedom 1 Large Enough : Forty Years in Northern California s Public and Academic Libraries, 1936-1976," an oral history conducted in 1999 by Laura McCreery, Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley, 2000. Copy no. Cataloging Information REYNOLDS, Flora Elizabeth (b. 1911) Librarian "A Dukedom Large Enough": Forty Years in Northern California s Public and Academic Libraries, 1936-1976, 2000, ix, 180 pp. Childhood in Marin County, CA; living in International House, UC Berkeley, master s degree in Latin; School of Librarianship, 1935-1936: comments on Sydney Mitchell, Delia Sisler, Edith Coulter; employed at Sausalito and Mill Valley public libraries; army librarian in California, 1943-1945; reference librarian, SF State College, 1949-1953; librarian of Mills College, 1955-1976: predecessor Evelyn Steel Little, staff, students, collection development, early computerization; further on Edith Coulter; influence of Frances Clarke Sayers; teaching reference and bibiliography ; working with LeRoy Merritt, Leslie Clarke, Roger Levenson; William J. Monihan and University of San Francisco Gleeson Library; retirement: Associate in The Bancroft Library. Introduction by Charles Larsen, Professor Emeritus, Mills College, and Grace Larsen, Professor Emerita, Holy Names College. Interviewed 1999 by Laura McCreery for the Library School Oral History Series. The Regional Oral History Office, The Bancroft Library, University of California, Berkeley. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The Regional Oral History Office wishes to express its thanks to the following individuals and organizations whose encouragement and support have made possible the Library School Oral History Series Patricia Anderson Farquar Memorial Fund Morley S. Farquar, Patron Class of 1931 Oral History Endowment Alumni Association of the School of Librarianship and School of Library and Information Studies Corliss S. Lee In Memory of Patricia Anderson Farquar: John Baleix Willa K. Baum Robert L. Briscoe Irene Frew Jean E. Herring Lester Hurd Jean C. Marks Rebecca D. Mclntyre Sharon A. Moore Corinne Rathj ens Marlene B. Riley Juanita S. Vidalin In memory of Fredric J. Mosher: Ricki A. Blau Brigitte W. Dickinson Charlotte A. Tyler TABLE OF CONTENTS--Flora Elizabeth Reynolds PREFACE i INTRODUCTION by Charles and Grace Larsen v INTERVIEW HISTORY by Laura McCreery ix BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION xi I FAMILY BACKGROUND, CHILDHOOD, EDUCATION 1 Maternal Great-grandparents and Grandparents; Mother s Background 1 Father s English Heritage and Roots in the Railroad Business 3 Extended Family; The Farm in Geyserville 5 Early Life and Schooling in Mill Valley, California, 1920s 7 Tamalpais High School, 1925-1929 8 Family and Community Activities 10 Living at International House, UC Berkeley, From 1930 14 Early Impressions of Berkeley; Memorable Courses and Faculty Members 15 Master s Degree in Latin, 1934-1935; Berkeley Campus Administrators 20 II THE SCHOOL OF LIBRARIANSHIP AND EARLY LIBRARY JOBS 26 Deciding to Apply to the School of Librarianship 26 Recollections of the School and Sydney Mitchell, 1935-1936 28 The Physical Setup of the School; University Librarians 34 Katherine Anderson and Issues of Book Selection 37 The California State Library and Its Librarians 42 Delia Sisler s Courses in Cataloging and History of the Book 44 Edith Coulter, Teacher of Reference and Bibliography 48 The Working Relationship of Professors Coulter and Sisler 51 Seeking Employment After Library School; San Francisco Public Library 53 Sausalito Free Public Library, 1937-1939 56 Mill Valley Public Library, 1939-1943; Frances Clarke Sayers 61 Joining the War Effort: Army Librarian in California, 1943-1945 64 Reference Department at San Francisco State College, 1949-1953 71 Teaching Reference at UC Extension; Berkeley Public Library, 1953-1954 76 III LIBRARIAN OF MILLS COLLEGE, 1955-1976 81 Evelyn Steel Little, Librarian at Mills, 1937-1955 81 An Interview and Offer at Mills; Early Impressions of the Campus 85 First Years as Mills Librarian: Staff, Collection, Faculty 89 Courses Sponsored by the Library; Thoughts on Students 96 Collection Development at Mills 99 Renovation of Library Space; Funding; Student Unrest 102 Earliest Forays into Computerization 107 The Dewey Decimal System vs. Library of Congress 109 Adding a Rare Books Librarian HO Retiring From Mills, 1976; Eucalyptus Press; Management Style 112 IV FURTHER CAREER RECOLLECTIONS; AN ACTIVE RETIREMENT 116 Edith Coulter s Later Life and Honorary Doctorate From Mills College 116 Presidency of Alumni Association, 1958 121 Recalling Edwin Castagna and Rachel Dent Castagna 122 More about Presidency of the Alumni Association; Professional Meetings 126 Teaching Reference during Fredric Mosher s Sabbaticals, 1958 and 1964 130 LeRoy Merritt and Summer Teaching at University of Oregon, 1966-1970 134 Becoming an Associate in The Bancroft Library; Working with Leslie Clarke Roger Levenson and the Tamalpais Press 139 Father Monihan and the Gleeson Library at the University of San Francisco 1*3 Collaborating with Margaret Lyon to Write The Flying Cloud 146 Center for the Book at Mills College; Other Publications 149 Issues in Librarianship: Computers, Public Image, Gender 150 Thoughts on Influential Family, Colleagues, Friends 157 TAPE GUIDE 161 APPENDIX Flora Elizabeth Reynolds, Curriculum Vita 162 Flora Elizabeth Reynolds, Bibliography 163 "Six Years in Marvelous Marin: A Librarian s Memoir, 1937- 164 1943," by Flora Elizabeth Reynolds, 1997 INDEX 177 SERIES PREFACE--Library School Oral History Series The Library School Oral History Series documents the history of librarianship education at the University of California, Berkeley. Through transcribed and edited oral history interviews, the series preserves personal recollections of those involved with Berkeley s graduate library school since the 1930s. In the process, the interviews touch on the history of libraries in the Bay Area and California and on remarkable changes to the profession of librarianship over time. Certain lines of inquiry are central to all the interviews. What were the changes to the School of Librarianship (later the School of Library and Information Studies) over the years? How were decisions made, and by whom? Historically, what is the proper role of and training for librarians? How has that changed? What, in the opinion of those interviewed, is the public s view of librarianship? Library education at Berkeley spans nearly a full century. In 1901 Melvil Dewey, founding director of the New York State Library School and author of the Dewey Decimal classification system for books, wrote to University of California President Benjamin Ide Wheeler, encouraging him to start a library school on the West Coast. Berkeley