Edith M. Nelson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | September 26, 1889 St. Paul Minnesota |
| Died | April 20, 1942 (aged 52) Nevada City, California |
| Occupation | librarian |
Edith Mabel Nelson (September 26, 1889 – April 20, 1942) was a librarian known for being the first Deaf woman in the Gallaudet Hall of Fame, and the last Deaf library director at Gallaudet University.[1][2]
Nelson taught at several schools for the Deaf after graduation, in St. John Canada, St. Augustine, Florida and finally in Washington D. C. working at the Kendall School.[3] She was appointed as a librarian to Gallaudet in 1919 and worked there for the rest of her life, though a 1921 directory of special libraries also shows her working at the Columbia Institution for the Deaf library which was Gallaudet's corporate name at the time.[4][5][6] In 1927 the American Library Association's Board of Education for Librarianship believed she was the only educator teaching library methods to deaf students calling her work "pioneering."[7]
In addition to her work in the library, she also taught Latin, mathematics and occasionally gymnastics.[8] She became assistant professor of library science in 1931 and full professor in 1939. Nelson was elected to the board of directors of the Convention of American Instructors of the Deaf. She had a lifetime membership in the American Library Association. She was also a member of Phi Kappa Zeta (OWLS), the national president of the alumnae OWLS, and president of the District of Columbia chapter.[3]
Nelson also enjoyed road trips and would cross the country in her automobile on vacations to visit family, often visiting National Parks and schools for the deaf along the way.[9]
- ^ "Nelson, Edith M." Gallaudet University Library Guide to Deaf Biographies and Index to Deaf Periodicals. 1942-04-20. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ Peet, Elizabeth. "Our Hall of Fame" (PDF). Gallaudet University. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ a b Peet, Elizabeth (November 1942). "Edith M. Nelson". American Annals of the Deaf. 87 (5). Gallaudet University Press: 415–420. JSTOR 44387899. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
- ^ "Faculty/Staff". Gallaudet University. 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ Special Libraries Directory of the United States and Canada ... Special Libraries Association. 1921. p. 86. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ "What's in A Name – Gallaudet University". Gallaudet University. 2021-01-12. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ "Bulletin of the American Library Association". Internet Archive. January 1927. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ "Catalogue : Gallaudet College". Internet Archive. 1946. Retrieved 2021-05-14.
- ^ "The Buff and Blue". Internet Archive. October 9, 1937. Retrieved 2021-05-14.