This was by far the most interesting article that I have read in this class so far. Especially considering that it was written by a member of the library school in Madison, I think this was an exemplary example of what a historical article should be about. While the previous article that had a larger scope in statistics was definitely valuable to read before this one for context, I will always be more interested in the smaller scale personal stories about librarians or history in general. I just loved that this librarian was not afraid to speak up when she knew she wasn’t getting the pay or promotions that she deserved. I loved that she wasn’t afraid to bring in her famous friends, either, to defend her. Everyone could probably use a cheerleader like Du Bois in their professional life at some point. One thing that really bothered me was that her family night was not continued after she left the library, and I wonder why that was the case. As a hopeful future librarian, I would love to be a part of those kinds of activities for families and children. What was the harm in continuing a great program? I also commend Andrews, however, on having a great amount of courage and ferocity in fighting the establishment because she was a woman fighting against a white male library infrastructure. There are few things in this world, I think, that frighten men more than uppity women, and when one adds the classification of ‘black’ to the term woman there must have been several men who were not at all comfortable with her being a more than competent librarian. I wonder why Andrews has not been a more well-known librarian, because she seems to represent the engaged and enthusiastic as well as assertive kind of librarian that is most needed in the profession today.
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