14 Facts About Ralph Munn

Ralph W Munn was an eminent figure in the field of American and international library and information science.

Ralph Munn attended Ohio State University Moritz College of Law from 1912 to 1913 where he was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity.

Ralph Munn transferred to the University of Denver where he received both his bachelor of law degree from Sturm College of Law in 1915 and bachelor of arts degrees in 1917.

Ralph Munn served in the United States Army from April 1917 to July 1919 in the 30th Ambulance Company.

Ralph Munn served at Camp Dodge, Iowa from September 1917 to July 1918 and became a sergeant.

Ralph Munn served in the headquarters of the 88th Infantry Division of the American Expeditionary Forces from August 1918 to July 1919 and served in Sorbonne, Paris from February to July 1919, Ralph Munn became a master hospital sergeant.

Ralph Munn "expressed grave concern over the great masses without ready access to public library services", reaching out in particular to young people and rural areas through bookmobile services and free borrowing privileges.

Ralph Munn was lauded for his role in the 1956 merger of the Carnegie Free Library of Allegheny and the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.

In future writings Ralph Munn seemed to look beyond the historical limitations of the library system into a present and future rapidly changing due to technological innovations.

Indeed, if the following passage were altered to reflect 21st century technology terminology, Ralph Munn would seem to be speaking directly to today's librarians:.

In 1934, Ralph Munn was commissioned by the Carnegie Corporation of New York to conduct a survey of public libraries in Australia and New Zealand, which he did in conjunction with Ernest Pitt, then Chief Librarian of the Public Library of Victoria.

Ralph Munn certainly did his part to assist in the latter recommendation, drafting a number of young Australian professionals to work in American libraries and assisting them however possible.

The assistance of these predominantly female librarians brings into focus an uncannily prescient viewpoint that Ralph Munn established in an aptly titled Library Journal essay, "It Is a Mistake to Recruit Men".

In recognition of his authorship and outreach and development of services directed at young people, the annual "Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest" has been established in his name at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh.