John Boynton Kaiser Papers, 1914-1924

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Kaiser, John Boynton, 1887-1973
Title
John Boynton Kaiser Papers
Dates
1914-1924 (bulk)
1908-1926 (inclusive)
Quantity
6.0 cubic feet, (13 boxes and 2 scrapbooks)
Collection Number
MS-010
Summary
This collection contains professional and personal papers of John Boynton Kaiser (1887-1973) who was the director of the Tacoma Public Library from 1914 to 1924.
Repository
Tacoma Public Library Northwest Room, Special Collections & Archives
1102 Tacoma Avenue South
Tacoma, WA
98402
Telephone: 2532922001
nwr@tacomalibrary.org
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research.

Languages
English

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

John Boynton Kaiser (1887-1973) was the director of the Tacoma Public Library from 1914 to 1924. During his time in Tacoma he was also a member of the Washington State Library Commission, the Washington State Library Advisory Board, the American Library Association Committee on Enlarged Program, and the Justice to the Mountain Committee, which attempted to change the name of Mount Rainier back to Mount Tacoma.

Kaiser left Tacoma in 1924 to become director of the University of Iowa Libraries. In 1927 he took a position as director of the Oakland Public Library, and in 1943 he became director of the Newark Public Library. He retired from Newark Public Library in 1958. Kaiser was also a library educator and taught classes in library administration at the University of Illinois, the University of Chicago, Rutgers University, UC Berkeley, and Columbia University. In addition, Kaiser served as president of the Pacific Northwest Library Association, the California Library Association, the New Jersey Library Association, and the New York State Library School Association. He was vice-president of the American Library Association, and executive director of the American Documentation Institute.

In 1908 Kaiser received a B.A. from Western Reserve University, and B.L.S. (1910) and M.L.S. (1917) from New York State Library School. In 1960 he was given an honorary degree from Rutgers University for his contributions to the library profession.

Kaiser authored numerous publications, a list of which may be found in "Annotated bibliography of the writings of John Boynton Kaiser, published 1911 to 1958; prepared on the occasion of his retirement as director, April 15, 1943-July 2, 1958, of the Newark Public Library" (1958, Newark Public Library).

Content DescriptionReturn to Top

Materials include correspondence relating to the Tacoma Public Library and various professional activities; financial and statistical reports; scrapbooks and loose newspaper clippings. Also included are materials from Kaiser’s involvement with the Justice to the Mountain Committee including correspondence, newspaper clippings and pamphlets.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

John Boynton Kaiser Papers; MS-010; box [ ]; Northwest Room Special Collections, Tacoma Public Library, Tacoma, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Acquisition Information

Donated by John Boynton Kaiser in or prior to 1970.

Related Materials

Further papers of John Boynton Kaiser can be found at Columbia University (MS#0689) and Rutgers University (MC 539).

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Subject Terms

  • Librarians
  • Libraries--Administration
  • Tacoma Public Library (Tacoma)--Employees

Corporate Names

  • Justice to the Mountain Committee
  • Tacoma Public Library

Geographical Names

  • Rainier, Mount (Wash.)
  • Tacoma (Wash.)