Eleanor Weir Welch University Librarian (Dean) Papers, 1865-1985 | Dr. JoAnn Rayfield Archives at Illinois State University

The Eleanor Weir Welch University Librarian (Dean) Papers are arranged into five series by material type. The first series holds national, regional, and state governance documents. The second series contains library administrative papers produced by Welch and her administrative staff. The third series includes Welch's research and publication notes. The fourth series holds Welch's personal correspondence with family and friends while the fifth series contains ephemera collected by Welch during her lifetime.

The Eleanor Weir Welch University Librarian (Dean) Papers contain materials related to Welch's tenure as the second University Librarian of Illinois State Normal University. These materials include governance and administrative documents, meeting minutes, and photographs. These papers also hold Welch's research notes, personal correspondence, family photographs, and ephemera.

Welch, Eleanor Weir (1892-1987)

Eleanor Weir Welch was born in 1892 in Summerset, Iowa. The first of three daughters, Welch became interested as a child in librarianship through a family friend.  After she earned her bachelor's degree in German from Monmouth College in 1914, Welch went on to teach German in Iowa.  Welch soon found her passion for librarianship and began work as a librarian at the Mount Ayr Public Library in 1917. Realizing she needed to further her education to work at the university level, Welch left her post in 1919 and attended the New York School at Albany (later SUNY Albany) and worked towards a certificate in librarianship.  A year later in 1920, Welch became a librarian at the Wisconsin State Teachers College at Stevens Point (later the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point).  Welch worked at the college from 1920 to 1929 and at the same time earned her certificate from the New York School at Albany in 1925 and her Master of Science in Library Science from Columbia University in 1928.  It was during Welch's college education that the librarian profession underwent a major transformation. The profession moved from a job that performed simple administrative tasks to a theory based, academically influenced career. Important figures in the library profession such as Minnie Earl Sears and Isadore Gilbert Mudge taught at Columbia University while Welch was a student. After graduation, Welch taught for a short time at McGill University while she participated in library societies including the American Library Association (ALA). It was at the 1928 ALA annual meeting that Welch met the acting librarian, Gertrude Andrews, for Illinois State Normal University (ISNU). Angeline Milner, ISNU's first University Librarian, had recently passed away and Andrews was seeking her replacement. Welch applied and after meeting with then president David Felmley, she accepted the post in 1929 as the second University Librarian. Welch is credited for making several advancements to the university library during her career including the development of a dedicated library for the Illinois State Normal University Laboratory School, adding 20,000 books to the collection in four years, and implementing a significant change in the library book buying policy. Welch's new policy stated that books were to be purchased based on collection maintenance needs rather than on demand. Welch was also very active in the librarian profession during her career, serving on various committees and working groups as well as authoring several articles on library services and librarianship. Welch served as the University Librarian until her retirement in 1959. After her retirement, Welch traveled extensively and kept diaries of her trips. Welch died in Bloomington, Illinois in April, 1987. Author: April Karlene Anderson. Author: April Karlene Anderson

Illinois State Normal University - Faculty.
Milner Library - Management.
Welch, Eleanor Weir, 1892-1987 - Correspondence.
Welch, Eleanor Weir, 1892-1987.