Spencer G. Shaw

Spencer Gilbert Shaw (August 15, 1916 – June 16, 2010) was an American librarian and educator specializing in library services to children. He taught at the Information School of the University of Washington (1970–1986) and served as president of the Association for Library Services to Children (1975–1976).

Early life and education Shaw was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on August 15, 1916, to parents Martha Taylor Shaw and Eugene Shaw. His father worked at the Hartford National Bank & Trust Company, while his mother was a homemaker and community organizer who supervised the desegregation of the workforce of G. Fox & Co. during the 1940s.

Library career Shaw started his career as branch manager of the Upper Albany Branch of the Hartford Public Library from 1941 to 1949. He was the first African American librarian hired by the library system. From 1949 to 1959 he was program specialist in children's services at Brooklyn Public Library, where he built a national reputation for his storytelling and community-centered programming. In 1959, Shaw became consultant in library service to children in the Nassau County Public Library System, supervising children's services across 52 branches. From 1961 to 1968 he wrote and narrated a WHLI weekly radio program, Story Hour on the Air. He was a visiting instructor at library schools nationwide, including Queens College, the University of Maryland, Drexel University, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, University of North Texas, Syracuse University, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, and Kent State University.

In 1970, he became a lecturer at the Information School of the University of Washington and received promotions to associate professor in 1971 and professor in 1977. He retired in 1986 with the rank of professor emeritus. The University of Washington established the Spencer G. Shaw Children's Literature Lecture Series in his honor. Shaw delivered lectures and held teaching residencies in Australia, Brazil, Cyprus, England, Hong Kong, Japan, New Zealand, the Netherlands, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. He never married and had no children.

Awards and honors Shaw received numerous awards and honors throughout his life. Honorary doctorate of literature from the University of Wisconsin in 1992. A Carnegie Corporation Fellowship for Graduate Study in Librarianship in 1940. Grolier Foundation Award from the American Library Association (ALA) in 1983 American Library Association Honorary Membership 1988. Distinguished Service Award from the Association for Library Service to Children in 1998, Distinguished alumnus awards from Hampton University and the University of Wisconsin Lifetime Achievement Award from the Connecticut Affiliate of the Black Caucus of the American Library Association Nancy Blankenship Pryor Award from the Washington State Commission for the Humanities and the Washington State Library.