Augusta Baker Papers, 1911-1998
This collection consist of materials spanning Augusta Baker's career from the 1930s to 1990.
More About This Collection
Creator
Baker, Augusta, 1911-1998
Cline, Walter M., 1873-1941
Merritt, Julia B.
Chepesiuk, Ron, 1944-
Greene, Ellin
Merriman, Maxine Modell
Aiken, Gene
Nelson, Marilyn, 1946-
Shaw, Spencer G.
Smith, Henrietta M.
Williams, Robert V.
Ashley, Dottie
Cech, John
Chepesuik, Ron
Contributor to Resource
Bell, Sabra, Herron, Margie
Publisher
Columbia, S.C. : University of South Carolina. South Caroliniana Library
Date of Original
1890/2005
Subject
African American women librarians
Children's librarians
Baker, Augusta, 1911-1998--Correspondence
Children's art
Women librarians
African American librarians
Libraries
Travel
Children's authors
Dinners and dining
Postcards--Tennessee
New York Public Library. 135th Street Branch
Storytelling
Children's literature
Résumés (Employment)
University of South Carolina
African American authors
Librarians
Appalachian State Teachers College (N.C.)
Public libraries--New York (State)
School children
African American illustrators
American literature--African American authors
Classrooms
Great Smoky Mountains National Park (N.C. and Tenn.)
Public libraries
People
Baker, Augusta, 1911-1998
Bryan, Ashley
Travers, P. L. (Pamela Lyndon), 1899-1996
Murphy, Aileen O'Brien
McElderry, Margaret
Andersen, H. C. (Hans Christian), 1805-1875
Anderson, Louise, 1921-1994
Aruego, Jose
Brody, Julia J.
Campbell, Beulah
Chase, Richard, 1904-1988
Durham, Mae
Fraenkel, Jack R., 1932-
Gagliardo, Ruth
Gerhardt, Lillian N.
Haviland, Virginia, 1911-1988
Henne, Frances, 1906-1985
Hines, Ruth
Jackson, Jesse
Knopf, Alfred A., 1892-1984
Location
United States, New York, New York County, New York, 40.7142691, -74.0059729
United States, South Carolina, Richland County, 34.0218, -80.90304
United States, South Carolina, Richland County, Columbia, 34.00071, -81.03481
Medium
photographs
children's art
articles
essays
postcards
vitas (biographies)
interviews
biographical sketches
academic dissertations
doctoral dissertations
calendars (documents)
newspapers
personal correspondence
annotations
Type
StillImage, Text
Description
Augusta Baker was born in 1911 in Baltimore, Maryland, and would go on to become one of the country’s most well-known and widely celebrated storyteller, librarian and author. Her education background includes attendance at the University of Pittsburgh from 1927 to 1929. Following this, she attended the State University of New York, Albany where she received her Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1933 and a Library Science degree in 1934. Baker became a children’s librarian for the New York Public Library (NYPL) in 1937, working primarily at the Countee Cullen Regional Branch in Harlem until 1953 when she was promoted to Assistant Coordinator of Children’s Services and Storytelling Specialist. From 1961-1974, Baker held the position of Coordinator of Children’s Services at the NYPL. She was the first African-American woman to hold the position. In addition to her librarianship, she was a summer instructor at Columbia University where her courses focused in storytelling and library sciences.
Mrs. Baker was a pioneer in the NYPL’s efforts to collect and promote children’s literature depicting positive stories and illustrations of Black people and Black experiences. Her work towards this cause resulted in her establishing the James Weldon Johnson Memorial Collection, a collection of children’s books about Negro life. She continued her work in this regard by fostering hundreds of connections within the publishing world to raise awareness of harmful stereotypes in literature and to encourage authors and illustrators to produce work that prioritized positive Black stories. In 1949, Baker published a bibliography of materials titled “Books about Negro Life for Children,” retitled in 1971 to “The Black Experience in Children’s Books.” Other publishings from Baker include The Talking Tree (1955), The Golden Lynx (1960), Young Years (1977), and Storytelling: Art and Technique (1977), co-authored with Ellin Greene. She consistently authored and reviewed articles for various publications, such as Library Journal and Parent’s Magazine Educational Press.
Throughout her life, Mrs. Baker received many notable awards. She was the first recipient of the Dutton-Macrae Award, for advanced study in the field of library work with children. An active member of the American Library Association (ALA) for many years, she was the first African-American to receive the ALA’s Clarence Day Award for her weekly radio broadcast, “The World of Children’s Literature.” She also served as a chairwoman on the Newbery-Caldecott Committee. In 1963, she was invited to the White House by President John F. Kennedy to participate in discussions about civil rights issues within education and children’s services. Her influence and presence in a multitude of disciplines continued to grow throughout her professional life. She maintained that presence by giving speeches at international workshops and conferences, as well as consulting for prominent projects such as Sesame Street, during its infancy in the 1970s.
Mrs. Baker retired in 1974, but continued her work as an instructor at Texas Women’s University School of Library Science. In 1980, she became the Storyteller-in-Residence at the University of South Carolina’s School of Library and Information Science. For the next 14 years, she traveled around South Carolina giving storytelling workshops and collaborating with county libraries. Augusta Baker died on February 22, 1998 in Columbia, S.C. Her family continues to live in Columbia today.
Augusta Baker’s legacy continues on through various outlets such as this collection, the Augusta Baker Papers, that were digitized here and consist of materials spanning her career from the 1930s-1990s.
Language
eng, fre
Contributing Institution
South Caroliniana Library
University of South Carolina. Libraries
Rights
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Mills, Judie
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