Keyes Metcalf was born in Elyria, Ohio, April 13, 1889 to Harriet Howes (d. 1895) and Isaac Stevens Metcalf (1822-98), a railway engineer. Keyes was the 17th of 18 children. He graduated from Oberlin College in 1911 and went to the New York Public Library where he obtained a diploma in 1914. The same year, he married Martha Gerrish, with whom he had two children, Margaret and William. In 1917, Metcalf was appointed chief of stacks at the New York Public Library and was promoted to chief of reference nine years later. From 1937 to 1955, he was Librarian of Harvard College and Director of the Harvard University Library. At Harvard, he put forth a plan for three new libraries: one to hold rare books (Houghton, 1942), the New England Deposit Library, and Lamont (1949), the undergraduate library. He was an international consultant on library administration. Keyes Metcalf died in 1983. The Metcalf family claims over 100 relatives attended Oberlin College between 1878 and 1947.
From the description of Papers, 1872-1985. (Oberlin College Library). WorldCat record id: 26208999
