The field of librarianship is young and rapidly evolving, but there are people who laid the foundations for the profession. In this volume, Nappo pays tribute to these pioneers. The 60 profiles appear in alphabetical order. Each entry is six to eight pages long with notes and a bibliography. The well-known contributors (Melvil Dewey, Charles Ammi Cutter) appear along with older contributors such as the 16th-century Belgian Aubertus Miraeus, who first made books available to the public, and Nadezhda Konstantinovna Krupskaya, Lenin’s wife and the founder of Soviet librarianship. Pura Belpré, the first Puerto Rican librarian at the New York Public Library, and Carla Hayden, the first Black woman to serve as Librarian of Congress, are included as well. The entries cover the lives, educations, and major contributions of the subjects. They do not shy away from shortcomings, noting, for instance, that Dewey was known to be a racist, an antisemite, and a sexual harasser who did not give due credit to the colleagues who helped him. A useful work that gives long overdue recognition to the library profession. Recommended for all library school professional development collections.

Library Journal

In this treasure of a book, Christian A. Nappo offers succinct, fascinating biographical sketches of sixty men and women whose grit, intellectual curiosity, spirit of innovation, and devotion to the profession have shaped the evolution of librarianship. It should be required reading for anyone enrolled in a graduate LIS program. Practicing librarians, also, will treasure the connection this book offers them to the giants of the past. Highly recommended.

Jeff Weddle, associate professor of Library and Information Studies at the University of Alabama, and author of the Welty Award winning Bohemian New Orleans: The Story of the Outsider and Loujon Press

Social and environmental forces may be the major drivers of history, but often the influence of individuals as a factor in historical development is also critical. Librarians are no exceptions in this regard. Just as libraries have been both conduits and agents of change, their most prominent librarians, as Pioneers in Librarianship illustrates, have at once mirrored society’s ideas and helped shape them.

Alistair Black, Professor Emeritus, School of Information Sciences, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

This ready reference tool provides a snapshot of the history of librarianship and libraries themselves. Each of the 60 entries provides a brief but succinct overview of a notable library leader's life and contribution. Nappo notes in the foreword that he based his selection of individuals on three criteria (and an eye toward diversity): the individual created a new method for library services, was a notable person in the history of library science, or was the first woman or minority to make significant achievements in the field of library and information science. Some of the individuals chosen may be virtually unknown, and this text sheds light on these individuals and their accomplishments. This is a useful addition to the literature on library science. Recommended. Graduate students, researchers, faculty, professionals.

Choice Reviews