Marion Elza Dodd

Marion Elza Dodd (1883–1961) was an American bookseller, author, librarian, and professor. Dodd co-founded the National Association of College Bookstores in 1923.

Early life and education

Marion Elza Dodd was born in 1883 in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, to Charles T. and Rebecca Northall Dodd. Her grandfather was Moses Dodd, was the founder of Dodd, Mead & Co., and many uncles and cousins were also book collectors, editors, and publishers. Dodd received an inheritance from a wealthy aunt, then Dodd and Smith went to work, forming a corporation, enlisting officers and directors, and securing credit. They raised $25,000 through the sale of stock. Dodd and Smith launched the store with a slogan taken from an Emily Dickinson poem, "There Is No Frigate Like a Book."

Dodd and Smith established a cooperative arrangement for Smith College students, the first arrangement of its kind at a women's college.

Dodd retired with honors as president and manager of Hampshire Bookshop in 1951, but served as Chairman of the Board there from 1951-1957.

Organizational work Dodd co-founded the National Association of College Bookstores in 1923 and became the first woman to receive an honorable fellowship of the American Booksellers Association in 1925. Dodd was a member of the Executive Board of American Booksellers Association for 25 years, where she was the first woman officer. She served as secretary, and was the third Vice President.

Teaching Dodd taught a course in bookselling at Columbia University Library School during the summers of 1930-1931, and for four years taught a course for Smith College at the Hampshire Bookshop on the History and Art of the Book.

Librarianship Dodd worked as a librarian to John D. Rockefeller's General Education Board.

Writing While living in Northampton, Massachusetts, with Esther Dunn, Dodd published under the Hampshire Bookshop, and wrote prefaces, book reviews, and articles for publications such as Yankee Magazine, Publishers Weekly, and Atlantic Monthly. Dodd wrote a series of articles about Northampton local authors called "The Book Lover's Trail of New England."

Death Dodd died on March 16, 1961, in Northampton at the age of 78.