Frances Elizabeth Henne

1906 - 1985

Librarian & Educator


Divider

Frances Elizabeth Henne
 Born October 11, 1906, Frances Elizabeth Henne  is best remembered for the impact she had on the development of the school library field.  She received a B.A. and a M.A. in English from the University of Illinois in 1929 and 1934 respectively.  In 1935 she received her B.S. in library science from Columbia University and then in 1949 she received her Ph.D. from University of Chicago Graduate Library School.  After a brief stint as a librarian in the New York Public Library, she began a long career in the world of academia.  She taught at both the Graduate Library School at the University of Chicago (1942-1954) and the School of Library Service at Columbia (1954-1975).  It was while she was in Chicago that she played in instrumental role in the development of the Center for Children's Books.  She was one of the first educators to recognize that nonprint materials needed to be collected in school libraries.  She was also one of the founders of the American Association for School Libraries and she served as its president from 1948 to 1949.  She ceven haired the committee that produced the Standards for School Library Programs in 1960.  

Photograph from World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services (Hannigan, 1993, p. 346).

Awards
  • Received Joseph W. Lipincott Award, American Library Association, 1963
  • Received an Honorary Citation, American Library Association, 1976
  • Beta Phi Mu Award, 1978
  • President's Award, American Association of School Librarians, 1979
Selected Works
  • A Planning Guide for the High School Library Program, with Ruth Ersted and Lice Lohrer, 1945
Bibliography
  • Hannigan, J. A. (1993). Henne, Frances E. In World encyclopedia of library and information services (3rd ed., pp. 346-347). Chicago: American Library Association.
  • 100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th century. (1999, December). American Libraries, 30 (11), 38-48.
  • Sullivan, P. (1990). Henne, Frances Elizabeth. In W. A. Wiegand (Ed.), Supplement to the dictionary of American library biography (pp. 36-40). Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.

Back to Home

Last Modified: May 6, 2002