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Mary Sollace Saxe

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Mary Sollace Saxe (February 23, 1868 – May 27, 1942) was a Canadian librarian and author. She is best known for her work with the children's room at the Westmount Public Library and her published book, Our Little Quebec Cousin (1919).

Biography

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Mary Sollace Saxe was born in St. Albans, Vermont, on February 23, 1868.[1] Called “Mollie” by her family,[2] she was born to James Saxe and Sarah Storrs-Solace Saxe.[citation needed] She was the sixth of their seven children.[citation needed] While she was still a child, her family moved to Montreal, Canada.[3] This relocation to a French-speaking area would have an impact on her later literary works.[3] During her youth, she received a private education in Montreal, and went on to study journalism at McGill University in Montreal and Columbia University in New York.[3] Later in her life, she would take librarianship at the New York Public Library School in 1929.[3]  In 1901, Saxe began her 30-year career as Chief Librarian at the Westmount Public Library.[3] In this position, she would pioneer changes in library policy that would be adopted in libraries throughout Canada and the United States.[3] During this time, she would also write a number of books for young readers and columns for the Montreal Gazette,[3] Bulletin of the American Library Association,[2] Canadian Bookman,[2] Ontario Library Review,[2] and The Vermonter.[2]  Saxe remained in Montreal the rest of her life and died on May 27, 1942, at the age of 77.[1]  She was cremated and interred in her family's plot in Greenwood Cemetery, St. Albans, Vermont.[citation needed]

Career

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Saxe was the first librarian hired to run the Westmount Public Library and served from 1900-1930.[4] In 1904, she became an author as well when she published her first article, “Westmount Public Libraries”.[3] 1911, she opened a children's room to encourage children to read because she believed that children needed a dedicated space in the library.[2]  The room was designed with tiles depicting Alice in Wonderland scenes.[4] In 1914, Saxe also oversaw the project to create a Reference Room in the Westmount Public Library.[3] In 1917, Saxe introduced an open-shelf system to the library.[3] In 1919, Mary Sollace Saxe wrote and published her most popular book, Our Little Quebec Cousin.[5] It was a children's novel about a little French girl living in Quebec.[5] In 1926, Saxe connected the library with a conservatory known as the Palm Room.[3] She spoke at numerous conferences for librarians and wrote multiple books and articles.[3] She retired in 1931.[3] After retirement, she wrote a few one-act plays.[2] Her plays, “All is Discovered,” “Just a Tip,” and “Rainbows”, were performed theatrically.[3]

Impact on library policy

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Saxe's tenure at the Westmount Public Library resulted in policy changes that would become standard procedure for libraries across Canada and the United States.[3] Most notably, she implemented the open shelf system, which allowed patrons to browse the library collection and access books without having to request them.[3] She also advocated for thorough training and education for library staff.[3] Additionally, she oversaw the opening of the library's Children's Room in 1911, and the Reference Room in 1914, expanding library services to meet the needs of a diverse patronage.[3] She strongly believed that Canadians should support Canadian authors and be proud of them, so she encouraged patrons to read Canadian books to their children.[2]

Published works

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  • Saxe, Mary S. (1904). "Westmount Public Library". Public Libraries; A Monthly Review of Library Matters and Methods 9, no. 5: 209.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1910). "Popularizing the Library". Library Journal 35, no. 8: 363-66.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1911). "Classification Of Books". Proceedings of the Ontario Library Association Annual Meeting: 59-64.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1912). "With The Children in Canada". Library Journal 37, no. 8: 433-35.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1915). "The Canadian Library's Opportunities to Encourage the Reading of Canadian Authors". Proceedings of the Ontario Library Association Annual Meeting: 48-52.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1916). "One Hundred Years Ago - Relatively Speaking". American Library Association Bulletin 10, no. 4: 299-301.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1917). "What seems to me an important aspect of the work of public libraries at the present time". Proceedings of the Ontario Library Association Annual Meeting: 35-37.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1919). "Books and their classification". Canadian Bookman 1, no 3 (July): 56-58.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1919). Our Little Quebec Cousin. Boston: L.C. Page.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1920). "The Library from the inside, out!" Canadian Bookman 2, no. 2 (April): 16-17.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. (1920). "What is the most important aspect of public library work?" Canadian Bookman 2, no. 4 (Dec.): 90-91.[3]
  • Saxe, Mary S. Saxe (1927). "Libraries of east Canadian provinces". Library Journal 52, no. 10: 525-26.[3]

Associations and positions

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References

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  1. ^ a b Congress, The Library of. "Saxe, Mary S. (Mary Sollace), 1868-1942 - LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies | Library of Congress, from LC Linked Data Service: Authorities and Vocabularies (Library of Congress)". id.loc.gov. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Mary Sollace Saxe | CWRC/CSEC". cwrc.ca. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj "Mary Sollace Saxe [EX LIBRIS ASSOCIATION]". exlibris.ca. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  4. ^ a b "Westmount Public Library | QAHN". qahn.org. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
  5. ^ a b "Books by Saxe, Mary S. (Mary Sollace) (sorted by popularity)". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved 2024-12-05.
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