Eunice R. Oberly

Eunice Rockwood Oberly (March 7, 1878 – November 5, ) was a librarian who spent her career with the United States Department of Agriculture. She is best known for her work as the librarian of the Bureau of Plant Industry and for compiling the Check List of Publication of the State Agricultural Experiment Stations on the Subject of Plant Pathology 1876-1920.

Early life Eunice R. Oberly was born March 7, 1878, in Cairo, Illinois. Her father, John H. Oberly was editor of the "Cairo Bulletin" and she was the youngest of seven daughters. In 1885, the family moved to Washington, D.C. as her father took up the role of Civil Service Commissioner; he would later become Commissioner of Indian Affairs under President Cleveland. Oberly attended public school in DC and went on to graduate from Vassar College in June, 1900, where she served as class historian.

Career

Oberly began her career with the United States Department of Agriculture doing bibliographical work in the Division of Animal Industry. She was later appointed to librarian of the Division of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology. In 1908, the library of Vegetable Physiology and Pathology would be consolidated with the Office of Botanical Investigations to form the library of the Bureau of Plant Industry, of which Oberly was appointed librarian. Outside of her librarian work, Oberly was socially and politically active in the Washington, D.C., area. Oberly was president of the Vassar Alumnae association of the D.C. area and she was a member of the American Library Association, which she joined in 1906. She became locally known for her work during World War I to help get ambulances to France and for her work with the suffragette movement as an organizer of the Woman Suffrage Council in D.C. Bibliographical Contributions Number 2: Check list of Publications of the State Agricultural Experiment Stations on the Subject of Plant Pathology 1876-1920 Libraries of Scientific Research Institutions Round Table (1921) from Bulletin of the American Library Association Abstracts and Titles of Scientific Articles From the Librarian's Standpoint (1921) from Science The Contribution of Librarians to Agricultural History and Research (1922) from The Library Journal

Death and legacy Eunice R. Oberly died suddenly on November 5, 1921, at her home in Washington, D.C. After Oberly's death, her friends donated $800 in 1923 to the American Library Association as a memorial to her. The income from the donation was to be used as an annual reward to the compiler of the best bibliography of the year in the field of natural sciences or agriculture. The ALA board accepted the reward and transmitted it to the ALA endowment fund for investment and maintenance and a committee was assigned to administer it. The award is still administered biennially as the STS Oberly Award for Bibliography in the Agricultural or Natural Sciences.