Hausdorfer, Walter, 1898-1970

Walter Hausdorfer began his library career as a student assistant in the Sullivan Library, Temple Univ. In 1925 he became the Assistant Librarian. After obtaining his library degree at Columbia, Hausdorfer directed the Columbia School of Business Library for 16 years. Between 1946 and 1963 Hausdorfer served as head librarian at Temple Univ. In 1986 Hausdorfer's life work, Accounting bibliography, was finally published.

Walter Hausdorfer was born April 30, 1898 in Indianapolis, and in 1921 he enrolled at Temple University to pursue a degree in German literature. Hausdorfer enrolled in the first class of the Columbia University Library School in 1927 and in 1930 received an M.S. in library service from Columbia. For the next sixteen years Hausdorfer served as head of the Columbia School of Business Library. Hausdorfer also served as President of the Special Library Association between 1944 and 1945.

In 1946 Hausdorfer returned to Temple as head librarian and in 1950 he established the Harry C. Cochran History of Business Collection, focusing on examples of business and accounting practices throughout European and American history. By 1962 Hausdorfer completed his bibliographic manuscript on the history of accounting, which was finally published in 1986, sixteen years after his death.