Gratia Countryman visits Minitex

Legendary Minnesota librarian Gratia Countryman is here visiting Minitex this week. On Friday, April 13th she will accompany staff to PLD Day (Public Library Division of the Minnesota Library Association). Gratia will be available to take photographs with attendees at the conference after the afternoon keynote session Radical All Along: A Historic Look at Minnesota Librarianship, presented by Sara Ring (Minitex), Ann Walker Smalley and Olivia Moris (Metronet).

Here are a few facts about Gratia:

• She was director of Minneapolis Public Library from 1904-1936
• She was the first female head librarian in the nation
• Under her tenure, Minneapolis Public Library opened the nation's first children's reading room
• 9 branch libraries opened under her leadership
• She put book collections in schools, prisons, hospitals, and factories, and delivered books to farmhouses

Here are a few information sources to learn more about Gratia Countryman, or you can follow her on Twitter as she tweets through the @MnLibHistory account:

• Gratia Alta Countryman Collection, Hennepin County Library Digital Collections
• Hennepin County Library Tumblr post
• Gratia Alta Countryman MNOPEDIA article
• Star Tribune article, Minnesota history: For Gratia Countryman, an early librarian, praise is long overdue

Cover image: The reproduction of Gratia Countryman was derived with permission from a photograph in Hennepin County Library digital collections, made possible by the wonderful archives staff.