Running head: ADELAIDE HASSE 1

Adelaide Hasse and Documents Librarianship

Aaryn D. Silva

University of North Texas

ADELAIDE HASSE 2

Abstract

The purpose of this research paper is to examine the impact of librarian Adelaide Hasse on the field of library science, especially in terms of cataloging and school libraries. Adelaide Hasse

(1868-1953) had no formal library training, yet she became a pioneer of documents librarianship, creating new and innovative classification systems at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL),

Government Printing Office (GPO), and (NYPL). The classification systems she created form the basis of systems used today, and her bibliographies and checklists are likewise essential. She is especially well-known for helping create the SuDocs

(Superintendent of Documents) classification system. Hasse was also heavily involved in library training programs, writing several articles and helping train new librarians at the LAPL and

NYPL. Hasse was a strong advocate for libraries to provide services to the general public, not just the leisure class. This included students and teachers, and Hasse’s beliefs and advocacy had a lasting impact on school librarianship. The research provided here firmly supports Adelaide

Hasse’s role as a pioneering librarian.

ADELAIDE HASSE 3

Adelaide Hasse and Documents Librarianship

With a career that spanned sixty years, librarian and bibliographer Adelaide Hasse left an undeniable mark on documents librarianship in America. From her early days at the Los Angeles

Public Library to her work with the Government Printing Office and the New York Public

Library, Hasse’s interest in organizing government documents led to systems that are still widely used today. Additionally, her belief that the public should have access to government documents gained traction in the early 20th century. Along with her trailblazing work with government documents, Hasse also worked with early librarian training programs and believed in public access to library materials. Hasse’s library career coincided with many new ideas in the field of library science.

The Early Years and the Los Angeles Public Library

Adelaide Hasse was born September 13, 1868 in , , and moved several times, landing in Los Angeles in 1887. No records of her early education remain, and she did not attend college. Her father, a physician, likely raised Hasse in a home that encouraged critical thinking and analysis (Grotzinger, 1993, p. 182).

In 1889, the Los Angeles Public Library, which was founded in 1872, moved into spacious quarters in City Hall, and Tessa Kelso, shown in Figure 1, was hired as new library director. Adelaide Hasse applied for the position of assistant librarian at the LAPL and was hired by Kelso that year (Beck, 2006, p. 16). With no library experience, Hasse learned on the job, and this foray into libraries set the course of the rest of her career. Tessa Kelso had an impressive vision for her library, believing that libraries should be free and open to the public (Gust, 2008, p. 8). Kelso’s beliefs left a lasting impression on Hasse. ADELAIDE HASSE 4

Figure 1. A photograph of LAPL librarian, Tessa Kelso (ca. 1900). Taken from https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tessa_Kelso_At_the_Pleasure_of_the_Board.jpg#filel inks

When Hasse began working at the LAPL, the library held some 1,300 volumes of public documents in no particular order and with no systematic way to access them (Gust, 2008, p. 11).

This collection grew to 17,925 volumes in just one year and continued to grow as the LAPL became a documents depository in 1891 (Nelson & Richardson, 1986, p. 82-83). There was no universal classification system, so Hasse set to work to design one for the LAPL. She began with the Department of Agriculture publications and created a checklist that was later published as the

USDA Bulletin No. 9 (Gust, 2008, p. 12). Though not much remains of her classification system, she chose not to use the Dewey Decimal system. Instead, Hasse organized documents by provenance, meaning she kept all Department of Agriculture documents together. Her system, a ADELAIDE HASSE 5 series of codes and numbers, was simple enough for others to learn (Nelson & Richardson, 1986, pp.84-85) and set the stage for her future work with government documents, classification, and indexing. Hasse created checklists and bibliographies, increasing access of these documents to the public (Beck, 2006, p. 26).

Figure 2. A photograph of the Los Angeles Public Library’s School and Juvenile Department in the 1890s. Taken from http://tessa.lapl.org/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/112103

While at the LAPL, Hasse and Kelso also designed the first library training class within a

U.S. public library, as shown in Figure 2 (Gust, 2008, p. 12). Though Dewey’s library school had existed since 1887 (Nelson & Richardson, 1986, p. 81), the LAPL library training program focused on a hands-on, apprenticeship approach. Hasse wrote a series of articles about the training of library employees for the 1895 Library Journal. She firmly believed that library school was not essential; what mattered was actual library experience. In 1895, Hasse wrote that ADELAIDE HASSE 6 knowing how to assign a subject to a book “is born of experience, brought about by contact with the public” (Hasse, 1895), not from taking a course at a library school.

In 1891, the LAPL began working with public schools to provide books for students and teachers. When the program began, teachers were able to come to the library to check out books for use in their classrooms. As the program grew, librarians created lending lists of books, allowed children to get free library cards, and provided a rotating book service to schools (Gust,

2008, p. 19). Though Tessa Kelso certainly spearheaded the collaboration with public schools and advocated for open access for students, Hasse was strongly influenced by Kelso’s beliefs about public access to libraries.

In 1895, Hasse and Kelso were forced to resign from the LAPL over political disputes with the library board. A Library Journal writer bemoaned their departure, describing Hasse and

Kelso as “among the ablest library workers of the Pacific coast…they developed the Los Angeles

Public Library from a condition of comparative insignificance into its present position as a medium of broad usefulness and educational force” (Library News, 1895, p. 162). Hasse’s time at the LAPL was indeed impressive; she devised a new way to organize documents, compiled bibliographies and indexes, helped develop a library training school, and worked to provide library access to all.

The Government Printing Office and SuDocs

Congress passed the Printing Act of 1895 in order to consolidate the distribution and sale of government documents (Grotzinger, 1978, p. 183). At the same time, the Office of the

Superintendent of Documents was created within the Government Printing Office (GPO) to deal with the swelling numbers of government documents. Francis Crandall headed the organization and set out to collect thousands of current and past documents, create a collection for sale and ADELAIDE HASSE 7 another set to store in the depository, and provide reference services to the public (Cameron,

1983).

Crandall hired Adelaide Hasse, shown in Figure 3, as the first librarian of the GPO in

1895. Her duties included collecting, organizing, and classifying the government’s documents

(Malcomb, 2005, p. 13). The GPO leased a building in Washington, D.C., and Hasse set to work, creating storage and shelving in the space. She then had to literally go out and find government documents in places such as the sub-cellar of the Interior Department and a bricked-up room at the Capitol (Beck, 2006, p. 47). Hasse found and organized some 300,000 documents in her first six weeks (Cameron, 1983).

Figure 3. A photograph (n.d.) of librarian Adelaide Hasse. Taken from Government Printing

Office. ADELAIDE HASSE 8

Once Hasse had collected the documents, she needed a classification system for them.

She began with Senate and House publications, organizing them by Congress and session. As she had done at the LAPL, Hasse assigned letters and codes to the documents: H for House and S for Senate, followed by a number code (1 for journals, 2 for reports, 3 for executive documents, and 4 for miscellaneous documents) (Nelson & Richardson, 1986, p. 92). Hasse’s systematic approach was the beginning of the Superintendent of Documents (SuDocs) classification system, which was easily processed and made accessible to the public. The SuDocs classification system was not fully developed until after Hasse left the GPO (Beck, 2006, p 52), but Hasse’s methods formed the core of the system, and she is known in the field as the creator of the SuDocs system

(Malcomb, 2005, p. 14).

By 1897, the documents library at the GPO was organized and held 16,841 printed documents and 2,597 maps (Cameron, 1986). Superintendent Crandall noted that “in its completeness in preserving every kind of public document, and every edition of the same, it is, I believe, not rivaled by any other collection” (Cameron, 1986). Though she only worked for the

GPO for two years, Hasse once again left her mark on the organization and the entire field of documents librarianship.

The New York Public Library

In 1897, Dr. , shown in Figure 4, hired Adelaide Hasse to catalog documents at the New York Public Library (Beck, 2006, p. 66). From 1897 to 1913, Hasse developed the public documents collection of the NYPL, which was originally housed in the

Astor Library, shown in Figure 5. Thousands of documents were unorganized. In just over a decade, Hasse cataloged 300,000 volumes (Grotzinger 1993, p. 345) and prepared checklists and bibliographies. As she found at the LAPL and the GPO, there were no rules for dealing with ADELAIDE HASSE 9 government documents. Once again, Hasse created her own system, eschewing traditional cataloging systems and working to make materials accessible to the public. Hasse’s simple solution was to use the country or government as the author, followed by the type of document, such as, “. Constitution.” (Beck, 2006, p. 74). Hasse lectured about her classification system, published two volumes of a cataloging handbook, and served as the chair of the ALA’s Committee of Public Documents (Beck, 2006, p. 73).

Figure 4. A photograph (n.d.) of Dr. John Shaw Billings, head of the New York Public Library.

Taken from The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print

Collection, The New York Public Library.

Hasse’s duties at the New York Public Library were not limited to classification systems.

She became involved with educating new librarians via apprenticeship programs (much like the practicum requirements in current school library programs), but she also lectured at local library ADELAIDE HASSE 10 schools (Beck, 2006, p. 81). In 1902, she traveled to London, where she located two presumably- lost books, one of which was a copy of the “Bradford Journal.” Originally published in 1693, this was the first book printed in New York (Corbin, 1981, p. 756). In 1903, Hasse’s first comprehensive bibliography of the colonial New York General Assembly was published; she would publish additional bibliographies in later years (Beck, 2006, p. 85).

Figure 5. A photograph (n.d.) by L.H. Wickes of the exterior of the Astor Library, part of the

New York Public Library. Taken from the Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York

Public Library.

In the 1910s, Hasse began advocating for providing services to special groups. She believed that libraries should not been mere depositories of information; they needed to actively meet the needs of the public and provide access to that information (Beck, 2006, p. 156).

Throughout 1915, Hasse met with businessmen to determine their needs (Beck, 2006, p. 175). In ADELAIDE HASSE 11 a Library Journal article from 1917, Hasse argued that “a library is a utility, not a monument”

(Hasse, 1917, p. 271) and urged librarians market their libraries by figuring out what the public needed, creating attractive displays, employing a knowledgeable staff, and advertising (Hasse,

1917, p. 271). While these ideas were new in the early twentieth century, Hasse’s beliefs certainly impacted both school and public libraries; the library is not just for the leisure class, but for the whole community.

Leaving the NYPL and Later Years

When Dr. Billings died in 1913, the leadership of the NYPL changed, and Adelaide

Hasse lost a long-time supporter. She was accused of being a German sympathizer during World

War I and was charged with insubordination (Grotzinger, 1993, p. 345). Hasse refused to tender her resignation and was fired in 1919 (Beck, 2006 p. 251). She returned to Washington, D.C., where she found work in other organizations, including war agencies, the , and the WPA (Grotzinger, 1978, p. 183; Beck, 2006, p. 289, 308, 319). She would never again work in a public library. Adelaide Hasse died in 1953 near Washington, D.C.

Conclusion

Adelaide Hasse had an incredible impact on the field of library science. Her career aligned with the birth of documents librarianship. Hasse developed new and innovative classification systems, compiled indexes, and wrote numerous bibliographies. Her work went beyond simply organizing public documents; she advocated strongly for public access to these materials. The systems Hasse created are the basis for classification systems that are still used today. Though Hasse didn’t work directly with school libraries, her work did impact school librarianship in two meaningful ways. She advocated for librarian education programs that emphasized apprenticeships; while school librarians must be degreed and certified today, the ADELAIDE HASSE 12 practicum (like Hasse’s apprenticeship) is a key part of school library training. In addition, in advocating for public access to libraries, Hasse encouraged libraries to be welcoming for students and teachers. Hasse was truly a unique pioneer in the field of library science. ADELAIDE HASSE 13

References

Beck, C. (2006). The new woman as librarian: The career of Adelaide Hasse. Lanham, Md:

Scarecrow Press.

Cameron, J. (1983). GPO’s living history: Adelaide R. Hasse. Typeline, 16 (9), 8-9. Retrieved

from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED115285.pdf

Corbin, J. (1981). Strange career of Adelaide Hasse. Wilson Library Bulletin, 55, 756-757.

Dain, P. (1972). The New York Public Library: A history of its founding and early years. New

York: New York Public Library.

General Research Division, The New York Public Library. (1900). Los Angeles (Calif.) Public

Library [Photograph]. Retrieved September 7, 2018 from

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/9bdbbf85-86c7-f77f-e040-e00a18062d74

Government Printing Office. (ca. 1895) The original GPO building [Photograph]. Retrieved

September 7, 2018 from http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2012/05/government-

printing-office-in.html

Government Printing Office. (n.d.) Adelaide Hasse. [Photograph]. Retrieved September 7, 2018

from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adelaide_Hasse

Grotzinger, L. (1978). Women who "spoke for themselves." College & Research Libraries,

39(3), 175-190. Retrieved from

https://crl.acrl.org/index.php/crl/article/view/13146/14592

Grotzinger, L. (1993). Hasse, Adelaide. In Robert Wedgeworth (Ed.), The world encyclopedia of

library and information services (pp. 244-245). Chicago: American Library Association.

Gust, R. (2008). Origins of the Los Angeles Public Library Branch System, 1891-1923.

[Research paper]. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED502684.pdf ADELAIDE HASSE 14

Hasse, A.R. (1895). The training of library employes – IV. The Library Journal, 20 (9),

303-305.

Hasse, A.R. (1917). Making a market in libraries. The Library Journal, 42(4), 270-272.

[Library news] (1895). The Library Journal, 20 (5), 161-162. Retrieved from

https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=mdp.39015036908138;view=1up;seq=137

Los Angeles Public Library’s school and juvenile department [Photograph]. (ca. 189-).

Retrieved September 10, 2018 from

http://tessa.lapl.org/cdm/ref/collection/photos/id/112103

Malcomb, L. (2005). Documents librarianship in Indiana: A historical review. Indiana

Libraries, 24(1), 13-17.

Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. (1907). Front facade of the

New York Public Library, Dec. 26, 1907 [Photograph]. Retrieved September 7, 2018 from

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/92e8dd84-e0a0-fc07-e040-e00a1806092e

The Miriam and Ira D. Wallach Division of Art, Prints and Photographs: Print Collection, The

New York Public Library. (n.d.) Dr. Billings, trustee room [Photograph]. Retrieved

September 25, 2018 from http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dc-9364-a3d9-

e040-e00a18064a99

Nelson, G. K. & Richardson, V. (1986) Adelaide Hasse and the early history of the U.S.

Superintendent of Documents classification scheme. Government Publications Review

13(1), 79-96.

Silva, A. (2018). Adelaide Hasse [Timeline]. ADELAIDE HASSE 15

Tessa Kelso. [Photograph]. (ca. 1900). Retrieved September 19, 2018 from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Tessa_Kelso_At_the_Pleasure_of_the_Board.

jpg#filelinks

Wickes, L.H. (n.d.). Astor Library building front exterior [Photograph]. Manuscripts and

Archives Division, The New York Public Library. Retrieved September 25, 2018 from

http://digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/510d47dd-e1c2-a3d9-e040-e00a18064a99

ADELAIDE HASSE 16

Appendix A

ADELAIDE HASSE 17

Timeline images, from top to bottom:

Photograph of the Los Angeles Public Library, 1900. Taken from the General Research Division,

The New York Public Library.

Photograph of the original Government Printing Office building, c. 1895. Taken from the

Government Printing Office.

Photograph of the New York Public Library, December 26, 1907. Taken from the Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library.

Undated photograph of librarian Adelaide Hasse. Taken from Government Printing Office.

ADELAIDE HASSE 18

Appendix B

Bibliography

Hasse, A.R. (1895). The training of library employes. – IV. The Library Journal, 20 (9),

303-305.

Hasse, A.R. (1902). United States government publications: A handbook for the cataloger, part

I. Boston: Library Bureau.

Hasse, A.R. (1903). Some materials for a bibliography of the official publications of the General

Assembly of the Colony of New York, 1693-1775. New York: New York Public Library.

Hasse, A.R. (1903). United States government publications: A handbook for the cataloger, part

II. Boston: Library Bureau.

Hasse, A.R. (1907). Index of economic material in documents of the states of the United States:

New Hampshire, 1789-1904. Washington, D.C.: Carnegie Institution of Washington.

Hasse, A.R. (1917). Making a market in libraries. Library Journal, 42(4), 270-272.

Hasse, A.R. (1917). Women in libraries. The Journal of the Association of Collegiate Alumnae,

11(2), 73-80.

Hasse, A.R. (1918) Why not? New Republic, 13(168), p. 341.

Hasse, A.R. (1919). The compensations of librarianship. n.p.,

Hasse, A.R. (1937). Bibliography on urban real estate appraisal. Washington, D.C.: (n.p.).

ADELAIDE HASSE 19

Appendix C

Greg Hardin discussed the UNT library website, including lib guides, how to navigate searches and databases, and how to narrow searches using limiters and facets. Beyond the website searches, he described options for distance learners to request books and articles via ILL, so long-distance students don’t need to pay for materials. He also recommended Google Scholar as an additional search engine. Hardin highly recommended signing up for RefWorks, which is a citation management tool that helps organize references and create bibliographies.

Code words:

From Online Reference Interview with Greg Hardin: I don’t know

From PowerPoint 1: APA sample paper

From PowerPoint 2: reference

From PowerPoint 3: Figures