Dorothy M. Broderick
American librarian
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Dorothy M. Broderick (June 23, 1929 – December 17, 2011) was an American writer, college professor, editor, and "a legend of YA librarianship".[1] She was co-founder and editor of VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates, a professional magazine for librarians concerned with services for children and youth.
Dorothy M. Broderick | |
|---|---|
| Born | June 23, 1929 Bridgeport, Connecticut, U.S. |
| Died | December 17, 2011 (age 82) Patchogue, New York, U.S. |
| Occupations | Writer, librarian, college professor |
Early life and education
Broderick was born in Bridgeport, Connecticut, the daughter of Mary L. Broderick. She graduated from New Haven State Teachers College in 1953, and earned a master's in library science (MLS) from Columbia University in 1956. She completed a doctorate in library science (DLS) in 1971.[2] Her dissertation advisor was Frances E. Henne.[3]
Career
Broderick was a librarian in Milford, Connecticut, and Hicksville, New York, as a young woman,[4] and at Western Reserve University[5] and the University of Wisconsin[6] after she earned her DLS.[7] She was the children's library consultant for the New York State Library.[8] She taught children's literature at Dalhousie University beginning in 1972. In 1977, she organized the first science fiction fan convention in Nova Scotia.[9]
Broderick was an active member of the American Library Association and of YALSA. Broderick spoke and wrote often on censorship issues,[10][11] and on the evolving nature of public libraries, especially for younger patrons.[12] "It is not enough just to have beautiful buildings," she said in her keynote address to the annual conference of the Arizona State Library Association in 1967.[13]
Publications
Scholarship
In addition to her books, and articles in scholarly journals such as The Bookmark,[8] Leisure,[14] Instructor,[15] Drexel Library Quarterly,[16] School Library Media Annual,[17] and Publishing Research Quarterly,[18] Broderick frequently wrote short opinion items for American Libraries,[10][19][20] School Library Journal,[21][22] Wilson Library Bulletin,[23] Collection Building,[24] The Phi Delta Kappan,[11] and Library Journal.[25][26][27] She was co-founder and editor of VOYA: Voice of Youth Advocates, a professional magazine.[28] Her more distinctive writings were published as part of a posthumous festschrift edited by Anthony Bernier, The Collected Wit and Wisdom of Dorothy M. Broderick (2013).[29]
- "On Quality Books for Children" (1961)[8]
- An Introduction to Children's Work in Public Libraries (1965)
- "I May, I Might, I Must" and "Problem Nonfiction" Brid (1969)[30]
- "When the Censor Knocks..." (1971)[11]
- Image of the Black in Children's Fiction (1972, based on her dissertation)[31][32]
- Library Work with Children (1977)[33]
- "Intellectual Freedom and Young Adults" (1978)[16]
- Censorship, a Family Affair? (1979)[34]
- "Adolescent Development and Censorship" (1983)[17]
- "Focus on Youth: The Nonperson Gap in Public Library Collections" (1983)[24]
- Building Library Collections (1985, with Arthur Curley)[35][36]
- The VOYA Reader (1990, editor)[37]
- "Reviewing Young Adult Books: The VOYA Editor Speaks Out" (1992)[18]
- "Moral Conflict and the Survival of the Public Library" (1993)[38]
- "Turning Library into a Dirty Word: A Rant" (1997)[39]
- Serious about series: evaluations and annotations of teen fiction in paperback series (1998, edited with S. Makowski)
- The VOYA Reader 2 (1998, edited with Mary K. Chelton)[40]
Books for younger readers
- Leete's Island Adventure (1962)[41]
- Hank (1966)[42][43]
- Training a Companion Dog (1967, illustrated by Haris Petie)[44]
- Time for Stories of the Past and Present (1968, with May Hill Arbuthnot, illustrated by Rainey Bennett)
- Time for Biography (1969, with May Hill Arbuthnot)[45]
Awards
- Robert B. Downs Intellectual Freedom Award (1986)[46]
- Freedom to Read Foundation's Roll of Honor (1998)[47]
Personal life
Broderick toured North America in a travel trailer with her dog Heidi in the early 1970s.[2] She lived with her partner, fellow librarian Mary K. Chelton.[48][49] Broderick died in 2011, at the age of 82, in Patchogue, New York.[1] Her typescript and proof for Hank are in the archives of the University of Minnesota Libraries.[50]