24 Facts About Justin Winsor

Justin Winsor was an American writer, librarian, and historian.

Justin Winsor was an authority on the early history of North America and was elected the first president of the American Library Association as well as the third president of the American Historical Association.

Justin Winsor's father was a shipping merchant who had established the "Winsor Line", one of the first regular lines of clipperships between Boston and San Francisco.

Shortly before his birth, his parents had recently moved to Boston from Duxbury, Massachusetts, where the Winsor family had been involved in shipbuilding for generations.

Justin Winsor entered Harvard, but left in his senior year and never finished his education at the university.

In 1855, Justin Winsor married Caroline Tufts Barker, daughter of Ebenezer and Sally Fuller Barker of Charlestown, Massachusetts.

Justin Winsor published his first book, A History of the Town of Duxbury, during his first year at Harvard.

Justin Winsor was one of the creators of the librarian profession, a strong proponent of the ability of libraries to uplift, and a leader in the effort to make libraries the center of universities.

Justin Winsor started his library career as a trustee, then superintendent of the Boston Public Library.

Justin Winsor reflected the Brahmins' strong belief in self-help, uplift, and social progress.

At Boston Public Library, Justin Winsor undertook many projects used to track and help library use.

Justin Winsor employed innovative statistical analysis of the library's use and used the finding to promote the idea that libraries were not just institutions and repositories of books, but were a process.

Justin Winsor dedicated a great deal of attention to the compilation of bibliographies and guides to public reading.

Also, Justin Winsor annotated the catalog to give it an educational character.

In 1877, following a struggle with Alderman Hugh O'Brien over the professionalism of library management, Justin Winsor left Boston Public Library to become librarian of Harvard University, where he served until his death.

Justin Winsor came to Harvard at a time when research was gaining emphasis.

Justin Winsor wanted to make the library the center of the university.

Justin Winsor was a founder of the American Library Association and the Library Journal, serving as the first president of the ALA from 1876 through 1885.

The Library History Round Table of the ALA awards the "Justin Winsor Prize", established in 1978, for exceptional library history essays.

Justin Winsor was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1878 and the American Antiquarian Society in 1880.

Justin Winsor served on the Massachusetts Archives Commission for many years.

The Justin Winsor Prize was the first prize established by the AHA and was awarded from 1896 through 1930 and from 1936 through 1938.

Justin Winsor's death was mourned by the Academic Library community as well as the Harvard University community.

Justin Winsor edited the series "Library of Harvard University: Bibliographical Contributions".