Alice Mabel Jordan
Alice Mabel Jordan was an American librarian who helped define children's librarianship in the United States. She led children's work at the Boston Public Library from 1902 to 1940. She trained librarians at Simmons College, organized the New England Round Table of Children's Librarians beginning in 1906, and helped launch the Boston Public Library Training School after 1922. Colleagues and editors regarded her as a clear-sighted critic and adviser on books for the young.
Early life and education
Jordan was born in Thomaston, Maine, to Joshua Jordan, a sea captain, and Eliza Deborah Bugbee, a schoolteacher from Massachusetts. The family later settled in Newton, where she attended public schools and graduated in 1888. She taught for several years, then joined the Boston Public Library in 1900. In 1902 she became custodian of the Children's Room at the Central Library.Career
Within months of her appointment in 1902 Jordan undertook an educational tour of children's departments in Newark, Providence, and Springfield, as well as the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn. She began large public story hours at BPL that drew hundreds of children and adults, and she used such programs to introduce young readers to the library. In 1906 she convened regular meetings of area children's librarians that developed into the New England Round Table of Children's Librarians.Jordan joined the faculty of Simmons College in 1911 to teach courses in children's librarianship. She remained a member of the staff through 1922. In 1917 she was promoted to Supervisor of Children's Work at BPL.
She worked with BPL librarian Charles F. D. Belden and later Milton E. Lord to build in-house professional training. After BPL ended its formal partnership with Simmons in 1922, the library created the tuition-free Boston Public Library Training School for prospective and incumbent staff. Trainees agreed to serve at the library after appointment.
Jordan pressed for child-centered policies and spaces across the system. In 1919 she used card policy changes to extend borrowing privileges to children younger than ten who could sign their names. By the mid 1930s most branches maintained separate children's rooms, a system-wide summer reading club was in place, and she had instituted higher qualifications for children's librarians. By 1936 BPL required high-school graduation with college coursework, practical experience at BPL, and personal qualities suited to work with children. These measures raised expectations for youth services work locally and influenced practice in other cities.