Wallace Van Jackson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Wallace Van Jackson | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 6, 1900 Richmond, Virginia, United States |
| Died | December 14, 1982 (aged 82)[1] |
| Education | |
| Occupation | Librarian |
Wallace Van Jackson (May 6, 1900 – December 14, 1982) was an American librarian and civil rights activist. He was the director of several academic libraries over his career and was respected for developing collections that promoted the history of African Americans; he was also instrumental in creating reference services and building library collections for multiple libraries in Africa. Van Jackson was part of a group that successfully challenged voter discrimination against African Americans in 1944 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Wallace Van Jackson was born in Richmond, Virginia on May 6, 1900.[2][3]: 260
In 1934 he earned bachelor's degrees from Virginia Union University and a library science degree from Hampton Institute.[4] The following year he earned a Masters of Arts in library science from the University of Michigan.[4] He also studied at the University of Chicago Graduate Library School from 1939 to 1941.[4]
Library career
Van Jackson was appointed as head librarian of Virginia Union University in 1927 and worked there until 1934.[5][4] While at VUU, he taught one of the earliest courses on African-American history.[3]: 266
Beginning in 1941, he taught reference and collection development at the Atlanta University School of Library Science.[3]: 261 He became the first black librarian of Atlanta University in 1941, serving in that position until 1947.[3]: 261 In 1947 he accepted an invitation to work for the United States Information Agency as a public affairs officer in Monrovia, Liberia.[4] While abroad, he also attended the UNESCO Library School held in England as the representative of the Library of Congress.[4]
Van Jackson accepted an offer to head the library at Texas Southern University in 1949.[4] He brought the TSU library to national prominence with his work in creating a graduate school for African Americans and raising funds for library acquisitions as well as a new library building.[6] He worked as a consultant for the Alabama State College from 1952 to 1954, directing their book acquisition project and drawing up architectural plans for the library building.[3]: 262, 265 He became the library director at Virginia State College in 1954, devoting most of his energy to the design of the Johnston Memorial Library.[4][3]: 266
He helped establish library services during additional stays in Africa. From 1962 to 1963, Van Jackson served as deputy director and acquisitions librarian of the National Library of Nigeria.[3]: 263 In 1974 the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and the African-American Scholars Council sponsored his work as assistant to the librarian on the Swaziland campus of the University of Botswana, Lesotho and Swaziland; he initiated the library's reference service and created a plan for future development.[3]: 263, 265
While librarian at Mary Holmes College he taught courses in black history; he also taught the African American studies course at Hampton Institute throughout the 1970s.[3]: 266 He worked to develop the George Peabody Collection of Black materials at Hampton.[3]: 267
Throughout his career, he was an energetic member and supporter of library organizations; his service to the American Library Association included memberships on the Committee on Intellectual Freedom from 1952 to 1954, the ALA Council from 1956 to 1960, and the Committee on Economic Opportunity Programs from 1965 to 1967.[4][3]: 267, 268 He wrote a number of articles throughout his career, including "Some Pioneer Library Workers," the first published biographies of African-American librarians and "Negro Library Workers," the first objective survey of African American library employees.[3]: 271
