Matthews, Miriam

Librarian.

From the description of Reminiscences of Miriam Matthews : oral history, 1977. (Columbia University In the City of New York). WorldCat record id: 122308349

Miriam Matthews (1905-2003), the first credentialed African-American librarian in the state of California, was a librarian at Los Angeles Public Library (1927-1960), a historian of African American and California history, and an active member of the American and California Library Associations' Committees on Intellectual Freedom. Miriam Matthews was born on August 6, 1905 in Pensacola, Florida and moved to Los Angeles with her family two years later. After graduating from Los Angeles High School in 1922, Matthews studied at the University of California, Southern Branch (now UCLA) for two years. She transferred to the University of California, Berkeley where she graduated with a B.A. in 1926 and a certificate in librarianship in 1927, becoming the first known certified African American librarian in California. Matthews began her career at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) in 1927 and became a branch librarian in 1934. She took two leaves of absence from LAPL, one in 1940 to work at the New York Public Library in a librarian exchange program and another from 1944 to 1945 in order to earn a master's degree in library science from the University of Chicago. In 1949, she was promoted to regional librarian, a position she held until her retirement from LAPL in 1960. Matthews was one of the first people to advocate for the establishment of Negro History Week (now African American History Month) in Los Angeles, leading to its official observance by the City of Los Angeles in 1931. In 1946, she became chairman of the California Library Association Committee on Intellectual Freedom. The following year, she was appointed to the American Library Association Committee on Intellectual Freedom (1947-1951) where she contributed to the 1948 revision of the Library Bill of Rights. In 1977, Gov. Edmund Brown appointed Matthews to the California Heritage Preservation Commission and California State Historic Records Advisory Board. She contributed to the establishment of an archives and records management program for the City of Los Angeles in 1979. While a member of the Los Angeles 200 Committee in 1981, Matthews proposed and implemented the construction of a historical plaque detailing the names, ages, and races of the city founders. Matthews died in Mercer Island, Washington on June 23, 2003. In 2003, the Los Angeles Historical Society established the annual Miriam Matthews Award in her honor. The Los Angeles Public Library Hyde Park branch was renamed for her in 2004.

From the description of Papers, 1845-1988, bulk 1920-1980. (University of California, Los Angeles). WorldCat record id: 260684612

Biography

Miriam Matthews (1905-2003), the first credentialed African-American librarian in the state of California, was a librarian at Los Angeles Public Library (1927-1960), a historian of African American and California history, and an active member of the American and California Library Associations' Committees on Intellectual Freedom.

Miriam Matthews was born on August 6, 1905 in Pensacola, Florida and moved to Los Angeles with her family two years later. After graduating from Los Angeles High School in 1922, Matthews studied at the University of California, Southern Branch (now UCLA) for two years. She transferred to the University of California, Berkeley where she graduated with a B.A. in 1926 and a certificate in librarianship in 1927, becoming the first known certified African American librarian in California. Matthews began her career at the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) in 1927 and became a branch librarian in 1934. She took two leaves of absence from LAPL, one in 1940 to work at the New York Public Library in a librarian exchange program and another from 1944 to 1945 in order to earn a master's degree in library science from the University of Chicago. In 1949, she was promoted to regional librarian, a position she held until her retirement from LAPL in 1960.

Matthews was one of the first people to advocate for the establishment of Negro History Week (now African American History Month) in Los Angeles, leading to its official observance by the City of Los Angeles in 1931. In 1946, she became chairman of the California Library Association Committee on Intellectual Freedom. The following year, she was appointed to the American Library Association Committee on Intellectual Freedom (1947-1951) where she contributed to the 1948 revision of the Library Bill of Rights. In 1977, Gov. Edmund Brown appointed Matthews to the California Heritage Preservation Commission and California State Historic Records Advisory Board. She contributed to the establishment of an archives and records management program for the City of Los Angeles in 1979. While a member of the Los Angeles 200 Committee in 1981, Matthews proposed and implemented the construction of a historical plaque detailing the names, ages, and races of the city founders.

Matthews died in Mercer Island, Washington on June 23, 2003.

In 2003, the Los Angeles Historical Society established the annual Miriam Matthews Award in her honor. The Los Angeles Public Library Hyde Park branch was renamed for her in 2004.

From the guide to the Miriam Matthews papers, 1845-1988, bulk 1920-1980, (University of California, Los Angeles. Library. Department of Special Collections.)