Irrepressible Reformer

by Wayne A. Wiegand

Drawing from rare archival materials researched over a period of 15 years, preeminent Dewey historian Wayne Wiegand has produced the first frank and comprehensive biography of the man behind the Dewey Decimal Classification System and scores of other enduring achievements. Tracing Dewey's life and influences that shaped it, Irrepressible Reformer explores Dewey's ingenious enterprise as a library innovator, New York State education official, and business and resort operator—as well as those aspects many found arrogant, manipulative, immoral and bigoted.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History, Books About Books, Library Science, Americana, Librarianship

444 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1996

About the author

"Wayne August Wiegand (born April 15, 1946) is an American library historian, author, and academic.

Often referred to as the "Dean of American library historians," Wiegand retired as F. William Summers Professor of Library and Information Studies and Professor of American Studies at Florida State University in 2010. He received a BA in history at the University of Wisconsin–Oshkosh (1968), an MA in history at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee (1970), and an MLS at Western Michigan University and a Ph.D. in history at Southern Illinois University (1974). Before moving to Tallahassee in 2003 he was Librarian at Urbana College in Ohio (1974-1976), and on the faculties of the College of Library Science at the University of Kentucky (1976-1986) and the School of Library and Information Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison (1987-2002). At the latter he also served as founder and Co-Director of the Center for the History of Print Culture in Modern America (a joint program of the University and the Wisconsin Historical Society established in 1992).

In Spring, 1994, he was William Rand Kenan Jr. Visiting Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In Spring, 1998, he was Fellow in the UW–Madison’s Institute for Research in the Humanities. In 1999 he was elected to membership in the American Antiquarian Society, and in Fall, 2000, he was a Spencer Foundation Fellow. Between 2004 and 2007 he served as Executive Director of Beta Phi Mu (the International Library and Information Science Honor Society). As a member of the faculty of the FSU Program in American & Florida Studies, in 2006 he co-organized the Florida Book Awards (the most comprehensive state book awards program in the United States) and until July, 2012, served as its Director. For the academic year 2009-2010 he shared time between Florida State University in Tallahassee and the Winter Park Institute of Rollins College in Orlando, where he was “Scholar in Residence." In 2011 he received a Short-Term Fellowship from the New York Public Library. From 2010 to 2014 he served as President of the Florida State University Friends of Libraries. For the academic year 2008-2009, he was on a Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Humanities to write a book tentatively entitled ’Part of Our Lives:’ A People’s History of the American Public Library. This book will be published simultaneously with a documentary on the American public library currently being put together by independent film makers.[1]

He currently resides in Walnut Creek, California."

~Wikipedia entry - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_A....

Reviews

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Melvil Dewey was a weird, obsessively driven guy. If you're into Victorian scandal and/or librarians, he's a character to know about. The book is pretty good reading, especially if you skim the chapters about all the legislation he helped enact.

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a librarian, it was fascinating to read about the beginning of the ALA, Library Journal, and other library- and education-related institutions that were created by or otherwise impacted by Melvil Dewey. But this is not a biography that is going to make you like the man, who Wiegand time and again reiterates was unlikable, stubborn, irresponsible with money, and otherwise difficult. I found it a little odd that his racial and sexist scandals were not given as much analysis as his business dealings, which made the book a little dull to read in places. While the harassment scandals appear to stretch back through his first creating a library school in Albany, Wiegand only dives shallowly into this issue late in the book. Further, while I know anti-Semitism was a popular pastime among the WASPs of Dewey's generation and his scandal there was nothing new, something about the coverage of that chapter left me wanting more. Otherwise, I am glad I read this book so that I can more specifically dislike this infamous but essential figure in library history, and focus on ways that I might be able to undo the evils that he and his contemporaries built into public and private libraries in the United States.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well researched and thorough. Melvil emerges as a odd and unlikeable individual even if he did manage to get his classification scheme adopted by lots of libraries. Too bad his attempts at spelling reform did not succeed. Everything I heard about Dewey in library school is true and then some.

[Tina Stucky · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as part of my Master’s class, Organizing Information. It provided the background of Melvil Dewey and his contributions to the field of librarianship. It included both the good and the ugly parts of Dewey’s personal and professional life. I found it both fascinating and shocking.

[Everett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr. Wiegand's biography contained lots of information. It was well researched.

[Tripmastermonkey · Rating 3 out of 5]

what a jerk.

meanwhile, wiegand is a good writer. and quite critical of the man.

[Lynn Stallings · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! A little dry at times, but necessary to fully understand the conflicts. Learned a lot - Dewey accomplished so much more than the Dewey Decimal System. Also confirmed his racist, sexist, and antisemite actions.

[Rebecca Smith · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had to read this for school. The rating is mostly reflecting my feelings towards Dewey and his choices rather than the book itself.

[Heaven Hayward · Rating 4 out of 5]

He's a dick, but he's got style.

[Linda · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a slog and I doubted at times I would finish it.

It's more of a textbook which would fit in with Melvil Dewey's idea of reading being only educational and uplifting. I'm sure he'd shudder by studying my goodreads list.

Author Wayne Wiegand lets us know there was more to Dewey than his then innovative and still in use classification system. I wondered how he arrived at the categories and didn't get a great answer. But I did find out that Dewey was a leader in education ahead of his time in adult and continuing education. He pushed for more libraries, never a bad thing but he also felt libraries should strictly control what readers would have access to.

He was a flimflam man who questionably financed many of his reforms that included simplified spelling and the metric system. Anyone who challenged him professionally made him feel attacked personally. His racism and religious bigotry were not only tolerated but he appeared to celebrate them.

I like his system, him not so much.

[Apostate · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disappointed my library science program has no historical background class, no 'how-we-got-here-from-there' survey course, I decided to read a bio or two of this giant in our field. Wiegand is a library historian who seems to focus on American librarianship. This is a good, 'warts and all', unbiased recounting of Dewey's life & career. I still prefer the Library of Congress system to Dewey Decimals, any day of the week!

[Hannah Fortna · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece of biography--Wiegand handles the confounding conundrum of Melvil Dewey's character without bias for or against him, leaving the reader to decide what merits and reproofs Dewey is due. A fascinating read on multiple levels, whether as a history of the man who revolutionized library and education systems in ways that persist to this day, or even as an examination of how a child's upbringing will set his or her worldview and personality for life.

[Andy Gooding-Call · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eventually, I did go back and finish this. Dewey's life is...a bit of an eye-opener. This book is well worth the read for any librarian interested in some of the systemic issues in our profession. A lot of them came from this guy. If we understand him, we have a chance at improving ourselves as a group.

[Kristin Comeaux]

Although I haven't read this book, I believe it would give further insight into the life of Melville Dewey and how he changed the face of libraries with a new way of thinking. I am wondering if his new concepts were met with resistance?

[Angie]

Because I did not read 100% of this book (though I did get through a significant portion - for school), I'll be honest and put it on my didn't-finish shelf. Perhaps I'll pick it up again another time, Dewey was a character.

[Vivian Zenari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dewey was such a fascinating, terrible person that reading about his schemes was extremely entertaining. The biography is written in a workmanlike way, and at times I wished for more flair. Nevertheless I appreciate the original research that went into it.

[Cranky Librarian]

Nerd.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this book as background information for a class I was taking.

[Ariel Thigpen]

I chose this book because I think it will be interesting to read about Dewey's life since he made such a difference in the library world.

[Christine Barth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dewey was a very strange man. This took me forever to read because it was very thorough but I found it interesting.

[Christy Boehm]

I am interested in reading more about Dewey because he was so innovative. I'd like to know more about him as a person.

[Caitlin]

Irrepressible Reformer: A Biography of Melvil Dewey by Wayne Wiegand, A. (1996)