Effie Louise Power

Effie Louise Power (February 12, 1873 – October 8, 1969) She “directly influenced the development of services to children in three major United States cities: Cleveland, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh.” Power also traveled across the U.S. lecturing students and librarians on children and youth library services. She worked to build a network of children's librarians across the country who supported each other and established high standards for all in the profession.

Early life and education Power was born February 12, 1873, in Conneautville, Pennsylvania in the United States to mother Francis Billing and father William Ellis Power. Power never married or had children.

After Power graduated from high school, William Howard Brett, a Power family neighbor, jump-started her career by encouraging her to write the entrance exam for the Cleveland Public Library (CPL). He put Power in charge, effectively making her the first children's librarian in the Cleveland Public Library System.

Children's librarianship As the Cleveland Public Library's children's librarian, Power worked to instill in children a love of books and reading. She also sought to debunk the myth that children lacked interest in nonfiction. At the time, people believed that children had to be forced to read nonfiction books. She earned a diploma in their program for children's librarians. Two years later she graduated with a teaching certificate from Columbia University.

Career

"The consciousness that none of us is working alone in her endeavor to bring worthwhile books to children should strengthen us." — Effie Louise Power, in her inaugural address to the ALA's Children's Library Association, 1925.

Having worked her entire career in ethnically and racially diverse cities, Power worked to ensure access to library resources for all. She worked on book lists and programs she felt were appropriate for all young patrons. In 1926, she established the Book Caravan, the forerunner of the Bookmobile. she wrote for his book of poems, The Dream Keeper. In 1932, Ella McGregor of the American Library Association's Committee on Library Work with Children, asked Power for the name of someone who would might be interested in writing an article for the 1932 Children's Library Yearbook. Power suggested Hughes write the article. Power even wrote the introductory paragraph to Hughes' article in the Yearbook in order to promote awareness of his work as an author.

Power's feminist views also came out in her writing, with Florence M. Everson, in their 1928 book, Early Days in Ohio: A story of a pioneer family of the Western Reserve:

"Girls can't chop anything." said James scornfully. "They haven't the right swing with their arms," added Alonzo. "Here's one girl that can do as much as any two boys," declared Peggy as she seized a hatchet, and she swung it with so much vim that James and Alonzo stood back and gazed at her in open-mouthed wonder." After Power retired in 1937, Columbia University offered her a position; she lectured there for two years before retiring to Pompano Beach, Florida. Power became active in Pompano Beach's library system where she helped appropriate funds to rebuild a library that had been decimated in a hurricane many years earlier. She finally retired in 1948 and moved back to Pennsylvania, where she lived until her death on October 8, 1969.

Selected works A List of Books for Girls (1930) New York: The H.W. Wilson Company. Bag O'Tales: A Source Book for Story-Tellers (1934) New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. Blue Caravan Tales (Unknown) Unknown. Early days in Ohio: A story of a Pioneer Family of the Western Reserve (1928) written with F.M. Everson. New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. Library Service for Children (1930) Chicago: American Library Association. Lists of Stories & Programs for Story Hours Editor, (1915) White Plains: The H.W. Wilson Company. Osceola Buddy, a Florida Farm Mule (1941) New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. Stories to Shorten the Road Compiler, (1936) New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., Inc. Work with Children in Public Libraries (1943) Chicago: American Library Association.