Effie Lee Morris (April 20, 1921 – November 9, 2009) was an African American children’s librarian, educator, and activist, best known for her pioneering library services for minorities and the visually-impaired.[KEEP ORIGINAL ZALUSKY] Morris developed
Cleveland Public Library's first
Negro History Week and was
New York Public Library's first children's specialist for visually-impaired patrons. She was the first coordinator of children's services at
San Francisco Public Library, where she was also the first African American to hold an administrative position.[1]
An active leader in advocacy organizations, Morris served as president of the
Public Library Association, the first woman and first African American person to do so.[2] Morris also served on the committees for prominent children's book awards, including the
Caldecott Medal,
Newbery Medal, and
Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal (now known as the Children's Literature Legacy Award).[3] Morris wrote the original selection criteria for the
Coretta Scott King Award to become an official award for the
American Library Association (ALA).[KEEP ORIGINAL THOMPKINS BUT UPDATE LINK FROM SANDBOX]
Morris received many distinguished awards during her lifetime and posthumously, including honorary membership in the American Library Association in 2008.[4][5] In 2017, she was inducted posthumously into the
California Library Association's Hall of Fame.[6]
Education and personal life
Morris grew up in segregated
Richmond, Virginia. At the age of eight, she moved with her family to
Cleveland, Ohio, where her father was head chef with the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company.[KEEP ORIGINAL HISTORYMAKERS] Morris and her sister were one of only a few students of color at their elementary school in Cleveland. Reading was a part of Morris’s life from an early age. After discovering her local Mount Pleasant branch of the Cleveland Public Library, she delighted in playing librarian by organizing her books on the front porch.[7]
Morris was
valedictorian at
John Adams High School[8] and won a scholarship to the
University of Chicago, where she studied for three years. She returned home to Cleveland after her father fell ill and finished her undergraduate career at the Flora Stone Mathers College for Women at
Western Reserve University (now called Case Western Reserve University), from which she received two
bachelor’s degrees: one in
Social Sciences, and one in
Library Science.[KEEP ORIGINAL GARNER][9] She returned to Case Western’s Matthew A. Baylor School of Information and Library Sciences for graduate school. She studied under
Harriet Long, who specialized in training children's librarians.[8] Morris earned her
Master of Science in Library Science in 1956. Her thesis was titled “A Mid-Century Survey of the Presentation of the American Negro in Literature for Children Published in the United States between 1700 and 1950.”[9]
Morris married Leonard Virgil Jones in
Honolulu, Hawai’i on August 25, 1971. At the time of their marriage, Jones was Assistant Vice President of Fidelity Savings and Loan Association. A graduate of
University of California, Berkeley, Jones played
football for coach
Pappy Waldorf.[10]Jones remained active at Berkeley, serving as a trustee of the Cal Athletic Foundation and a director of the Cal Alumni Association.[11]
Morris always wore a pendant of an
owl, which was her personal symbol of excellence and a reference to the
“The Three Owls” column written by New York Public Library children’s librarian
Anne Carroll Moore. The column was the first series of children’s book reviews to be published by the New York Herald Tribune. Moore’s three owls represent the author, illustrator, and critic; Moore’s fourth owl represents the reader.[12]
Career
Cleveland Public Library (1945-1955)
Morris’s library career began during college at the Cleveland Public Library, where she worked in a branch with a large African American community. She focused on literacy for African American children and children in low-income urban areas.[KEEP ORIGINAL ZALUSKY] She established the library’s first Negro History Week celebration for children, for which she developed the programming and suggested reading list.[9]
New York Public Library (1955-1963)
In 1955, New York Public Library recruited Morris away from Cleveland. She worked in
the Bronx and became the library’s first children’s specialist for visually-impaired patrons. The coordinator of children’s services,
Francis Landis Spane, allocated grant money for Morris to find materials for visually-impaired children.[13] Morris was the only librarian in the country working with blind children and advocated for new books to be written for this population. When blind children throughout the country wrote to her for books,[RE-USE HISTORYMAKERS] Morris worked with the
National Braille Association (then known as the National Braille Club) to secure new adaptations of children’s books. This included braille editions as well as
multi-sensory adaptations using fabrics as illustrations.[13] During her time in New York, Morris served as president of the National Braille Association and chair of the Library of Congress’s Committee for Book Selection for Blind Children.[9]
San Francisco Public Library (1963-1977)
Morris moved from New York to San Francisco in 1963 to become the first children’s services coordinator at San Francisco Public Library. She was also the first African American to hold an administrative position at the library.[1] By 1973, she was still only one of ten African American librarians working in the San Francisco Public Library system.[14]
In 1964, Morris established the library's Children's Historical and Research Collection, featuring out-of-print books for young people that depicted ethnic stereotypes, in order to highlight the changing portrayals of ethnic and minority groups. The collection was renamed in Morris’s honor in 1981.[15] In 1969, Morris helped establish the library's first Negro History program, which included a visit by five African American authors and illustrators, including author
Lorenz Graham.[16][17][18]
A consummate advocate for children, Morris once advised the library’s architects that the proposed railings in the children’s section were dangerous for children, as they had been set too wide. During her fourteen-year tenure, Morris wrote the library’s declaration of children’s rights,[19], translated the library’s card application into five languages,[20] established a city-wide summer reading program, and wrote booklists for the annual event.[17] In 1975, Morris used a
Library Services and Construction Act grant to establish “Dial-a-Story,” a 24-hour phone line where callers could listen to a three-minute recorded story for preschool-aged children.[21]
Post-library career
After leaving San Francisco Public Library, Morris worked as a senior editor of urban education at
Harcourt Brace Jovanovich from 1978 to 1979.[22][23]
1971-72: President, Public Library Association: Morris was the first African American and first woman to serve as president.[2]
1971-84: Member, Coretta Scott King Book Awards Task Force: Morris was an early supporter of the
Coretta Scott King Award, which was conceived of to complement the Caldecott and Newbery Medals by honoring minority authors and illustrators. She was a member of the selection committee from the awards’ second year (1971), prior to its becoming an official American Library Association (ALA) award in 1982.[28] In 1980, the Coretta Scott King Award committee merged with the
ALA's Social Responsibilities Round Table (SRRT). Morris served as chair of the Coretta Scott King Book Awards Task Force from 1981 to 1984. During this time, she wrote the selection criteria for the award to become an official award of the ALA.[KEEP ORIGINAL THOMPKINS][29]
1974: Co-Chair, California Librarians Black Caucus[30]
1981: San Francisco Public Library renames the Children's Historical and Research Collection in Morris’s honor. It has since been known as the Effie Lee Morris Historical and Research Collection. Bookplates in the collection include the image of an owl.[LINK TO OWL SECTION][15]
June 12, 1984: Mayor
Dianne Feinstein declares Effie Lee Morris Day in the city of San Francisco[24]
1992: ALA Grolier Foundation Award for Lifetime Achievement for services to children and young people.[23]
1996: the San Francisco Chapter of the Women’s National Book Association established the Effie Lee Morris Lecture Series at the San Francisco Public Library. The annual event honors a children’s author or illustrator “whose work exemplifies the causes she championed: "inclusivity, diversity, and the rights of all children to read, learn, and create.” In Fall 2019, the WNBA hosted two lecturers: authors
Renée Watson and
F. Isabel Campoy.[33]
1999: Reading the World Award from the Center for Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults at
University of San Francisco[34]
2000: Honoree, California Legislature Black History Tribute to African Americans[34]
October 2005: Oral history participant, The HistoryMakers, a collection of video oral histories of African Americans[RE-USE HISTORYMAKERS][36]
2005: Black Caucus of the American Library Association Trailblazer Award[37]
2008: Honorary Member, American Library Association[4][5]
Posthumous tributes
June 2010: Tribute read into the United States congressional record by
Speaker of the HouseNancy Pelosi. Speaker Pelosi recognized Morris’s role in advocating for public library services for children.[38]
2012: Effie Lee Morris Collection of African American Books at the Butler Children’s Literature Center at
Dominican University in California. Bequeathed in 2012, the collection includes books for children that focus on the African American experience, related professional resources, and hundreds of Morris’s owl figurines.[40]
2017, Inductee, California Library Association's Hall of Fame[6]
Bibliography
See the City![41] (1967), an adaptation of Czech illustrator
Miroslav Šašek’s This is San Francisco,[42] written for 1967 ALA Conference, which took place in San Francisco.
Annotated bibliography (1984) for the children’s book Someone Special, Just Like You,[43] which was written to inspire tolerance of preschool-aged children with disabilities.
Foreword (2000) for the revised edition of Lorenz Graham’s How God Fix Jonah,[18] a collection of biblical stories told in the West African storytelling tradition.
Quotes
"[T]he most important thing is that children continue to read. The opportunity to make their own decisions about what they read can lead to a new awareness of the role of reading in their lives."[44]
"For centuries, our African American heritage has been shared through the oral tradition and then increasingly through growing amounts of print and nonprint materials. Now, technological changes are affecting the development and provision of informational resources. Librarians play a major role and should be leaders in providing continuing access to the African American identity with careful preservation of materials and with challenging guidance to all users."[45]
^
abWilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 155–156.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^
abOrange, Satia Marshall (2012). "Pay It Forward for Effie Lee Morris: A Tribute". In Jackson, Andrew P.; Jefferson Jr., Julius C.; Nosakhere, Akilah S. (eds.). The 21st-Century Black Librarian in America: Issues and Challenges. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 253.
ISBN978-0-8108-8245-4.
^Harris, Violet (Summer 2001). "An Interview with Effie Lee Morris". The New Advocate: For Those Involved with Young People and Their Literature. 14 (3): 280.
^Wilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 154.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^
abHarris, Violet (Summer 2001). "An Interview with Effie Lee Morris". The New Advocate: For Those Involved with Young People and Their Literature. 14 (3): 277.
^
abcdefWilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 155.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^Wilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 161.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^"Leonard Jones and Miss Effie Morris Are Wed in Honolulu". Oakland Post (California). Vol. 8, no. 19. Oakland, CA: Alameda Publishing Corp. September 2, 1971. p. 13.
^Wilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 156.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^
abHarris, Violet (Summer 2001). "An Interview with Effie Lee Morris". The New Advocate: For Those Involved with Young People and Their Literature. 14 (3): 278.
^Noel, Angie (April 21, 1973). "The Fight for Soul in the Library". Sun-Reporter. No. 16. San Francisco, CA. p. 16.
^Harris, Violet (Summer 2001). "An Interview with Effie Lee Morris". The New Advocate: For Those Involved with Young People and Their Literature. 14 (3): 283.
^
ab"Black Artist Given Gift". Sacramento Observer. Vol. 6, no. 17. Sacramento, CA. March 20, 1969. p. 18.
^
abGraham, Lorenz; Bryan, Ashley; Morris; Effie Lee (2000). How God Fix Jonah. Honesdale, Pennsylvania: Boyds Mill Press. pp. ix–x.
ISBN1-56397-698-6.
^Wilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 149.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^
abOversight Hearings on Library Services and Construction Act: Hearings Before the Subcommittee on Postsecondary Education of the Committee of Education and Labor, House of Representatives, 97th Cong. 382-383 (1984) (
Testimony of Effie Lee Morris).
^
abWilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 150.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^Wilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. pp. 158–161.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^
abc"Effie Lee Morris Jones". Women's National Book Association, San Francisco Chapter. Retrieved April 21, 2019.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (
link)
^Smith, Henrietta M., ed. (1994). The Coretta Scott King Awards Book from Vision to Reality. Chicago, IL: American Library Association. pp. ix–xi.
ISBN0-8389-3441-2.
^Garnes, Carolyn (February 19, 2019).
"It Takes a Village". American Library Association. Retrieved December 4, 2019.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (
link)
^
abWilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 238.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^
abcWilkin, Binnie Tate (2006). "Effie Lee Morris: Retired Children's Services Coordinator, San Francisco Public Library". African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 153.
ISBN978-0-8108-5156-6.
^"San Francisco Librarian Honored for Teaching Children to Read". Sun-Reporter. Vol. 56, no. 16. San Francisco, CA. April 22, 1999. p. 4.
^"Silver SPUR Luncheon". San Francisco Bay Area Planning and Urban Research Association. Retrieved April 21, 2019.{{
cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (
link)
^Morris, Effie Lee; Šašek, Miroslav (1967).
See the city!.
^Šašek, Miroslav (1962). This is San Francisco. New York, NY: Macmillan.
ISBN0789309629.
^Brown, Tricia; Ortiz, Fran; Morris, Effie Lee (1984). Someone Special, Just Like You. New York, NY: Henry Holt and Company. pp. 59–64.
ISBN978-0-8050-4268-9.
^"Reading Program At Library". Sun-Reporter. Vol. XXVI, no. 21. San Francisco, CA. June 28, 1969. p. 17.