Monteria Hightower

Last updated
Monteria Hightower
Born1929 (age 94–95)
Nacogdoches, Texas, U.S.
Education University of Maryland College of Information Studies, MLS
Alma mater Butler College (Texas)
Occupation Librarian
AwardsLibrarian of the Year, Nevada Library Association, 1998

Monteria Hightower (born 1929) is an American librarian. She was formerly the Administrator of the State Library and Archives for Nevada, the first Black state librarian in Nevada, and the fifth Black state librarian in the United States. [1] [2] She was the State Librarian of Missouri from 1986 through 1994 where she was the first Black state librarian. [3] [4]

Hightower worked as State Librarian of Missouri beginning in 1986. [5] During that time oversight of the library shifted from the department of education to the Secretary of State's office. [6] Hightower was able to implement a few major programs during her time there including getting Missouri State Library designated as a Center for the Book by the Library of Congress and organizing the Missouri Governor's Conference on Library and Information Services. [7] [8] Hightower was accused in a memo of using "the 'race' issue" to get what she wanted to which she responded "I don't need race. I'm trained for my job." [5] Hightower felt she was being asked to give patronage jobs and special privileges to family and friends of state employees, including opening the state library on Mother's Day so the governor's son could complete his homework, and resigned her job in protest in September 1994. [6] [9]

She moved to Nevada and worked in the Clark County library system until she assumed her role at the State Library of Nevada in April 1999. [10] [11] [12] She worked there until her retirement in October, 2000. [2] [13] She was named Librarian of the Year by the Nevada Library Association in 1998. [14]

She has also worked as the director of the Central Services division of Seattle Public Library from 1982 through 1986 as their first Black administrator, and supervisor of branches at DC Public Library. [2] [15] She has worked at Los Angeles Public Library and public libraries in Maryland and Connecticut. [16] [17] She is the author of the book Commonalities and Diversities in Public Library Programming in a Pluralistic Society, Serving Our Ethnic Publics, published in 1976. [18]

Hightower served as a Councillor for the American Library Association as a member of the Black Caucus where she took ALA to task for not making more hires of people of color. [19]

Early life and education

Hightower was born in Nacogdoches, Texas in 1929 to Harrison and Laura Hightower. She graduated from Butler College in Texas and received her MLS from the University of Maryland Library School in 1970. [16] [20] [21]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Daniel Alexander Payne Murray</span>

Daniel Alexander Payne Murray (1852–1925) was an American bibliographer, author, politician, and historian. He also worked as an assistant librarian at the Library of Congress.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judith Krug</span> American librarian and freedom of speech proponent (1940–2009)

Judith Fingeret Krug was an American librarian, freedom of speech proponent, and critic of censorship. Krug became director of the Office for Intellectual Freedom at the American Library Association in 1967. In 1969, she joined the Freedom to Read Foundation as its executive director. Krug co-founded Banned Books Week in 1982.

<i>Cryptid Hunters</i> 2005 novel by Roland Smith

Cryptid Hunters is a 2005 young adult science fiction novel by Roland Smith; it follows the adventures of thirteen-year-old siblings Grace and Marty O'Hara, who are sent to live with their Uncle Wolfe after their parents are lost in an accident. He is an anthropologist on a remote island, searching for cryptids, which are animals thought to be extinct or not to exist. His rival Noah Blackwood, a popular animal collector, tries to acquire an alleged dinosaur egg from Wolfe, and the twins get involved in the conflict which reveals a convoluted family history. The novel was nominated for several library awards and book lists, which include Hawaii's 2008 Nene Recommended Book List, the Texas Library Association's 2007-2008 Lone Star Reading List, and Third Place for the Missouri Association of School Librarians' Mark Twain Readers Award. Smith has written three sequels called Tentacles, Chupacabra, and Mutation.

There are several national systems for assessing, evaluating, or otherwise rating the quality of public libraries.

Andrew K. Pace is an American librarian and author. He has served as executive director of the Association of Research Libraries since February 2024. Previously he served as executive director of the University System of Maryland and Affiliated Institutions (USMAI) Library Consortium since March 2022, after fifteen years working in various leadership positions at OCLC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carla Hayden</span> American librarian and 14th Librarian of Congress (born 1952)

Carla Diane Hayden is an American librarian who is serving as the 14th librarian of Congress. Since the creation of the office of the librarian of Congress in 1802, Hayden is both the first African American and the first woman to hold this post. Appointed in 2016, she is the first professional librarian to hold the post since 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fontbonne University</span> Private university in Clayton, Missouri, U.S.

Fontbonne University is a private Catholic university in Clayton, Missouri. Fontbonne University, established in 1923 as Fontbonne College, initially served as a women's college. Fontbonne College became co-educational in the 1970s. Its athletic teams compete in the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. In 2023, there were 874 students enrolled.

The censorship of student media in the United States is the suppression of student-run news operations' free speech by school administrative bodies, typically state schools. This consists of schools using their authority to control the funding and distribution of publications, taking down articles, and preventing distribution. Some forms of student media censorship extend to expression not funded by or under the official auspices of the school system or college.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Blackwell Hutson</span> Librarian and archivist

Jean Blackwell Hutson was an American librarian, archivist, writer, curator, educator, and later chief of the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. The Schomburg Center dedicated their Research and Reference Division in honor of Hutson.

Evelyn May Seymour was an American librarian who collaborated closely with Melvil Dewey on the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC). Seymour edited eight editions of the DDC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tommie Dora Barker</span> American librarian

Tommie Dora Barker was an American librarian and founding dean of Emory Library School in Atlanta, Georgia. She also served as a regional field agent, representing southern libraries, for the American Library Association.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gretchen Knief Schenk</span>

Gretchen Knief Schenk was an American librarian, who served as Washington State Librarian from 1942 to 1945, and as president of the Alabama Library Association from 1949 to 1950. She was inducted into the California Library Hall of Fame in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Doris Hargrett Clack</span> African-American librarian

Doris Hargrett Clack was an African-American librarian and expert on cataloging and classification. She was a professor of library science at Florida State University for 23 years and did extensive scholarly work on the library classification of black studies and the second edition of the Anglo-American Cataloguing Rules (AACR2).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Christine Deschamps</span> French librarian

Christine Deschamps is a French librarian. She was president of the International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions (IFLA) from 1997 to 2003. She wanted to lead the library sector towards a truly international work, and make it more inclusive for those whom English was not their first language. She stated that she wanted her presidency to be remembered as a pragmatic mandate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lucille Cole Thomas</span> American librarian (1921–2019)

Lucille Cole Thomas was an American librarian. Thomas had a long career supporting library services for children with the New York City Board of Education. She was the first African American president of the New York Library Association. She also served as president of the International Association of School Librarianship and the American Association of School Librarians.

The Nevada State Library, Archives and Public Records (NSLAPR) is the official State Library and State Archives for Nevada located in Carson City, Nevada. It is also combined with the Records Services department which manages public records in the State of Nevada for state agencies and local governments. The library manages many programs for public libraries including public library certification and standards, LSTA grants, bookmobile funding and training for library trustees. They oversee Nevada Talking Book Services for print-disabled users, Nevada Center for the Book, and the Nevada State Data Center to help localities work with census data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean Ellen Coleman</span> American librarian and literacy educator

Jean Ellen Coleman was an American librarian known for being the founding director of the American Library Association's Office for Library Outreach Services where she worked from 1973 to 1986. This Office was originally created as the Office of Library Service to the Disadvantaged in 1970—opening officially in 1973—and later became the Office for Library Outreach Services in 1980 and the Office for Literacy and Outreach Services in 1995. It has been known as the Office for Diversity, Literacy and Outreach Services since 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sallie Webster Dorsey</span> American librarian

Sallie Webster Dorsey was an American librarian and clubwoman. She was Maryland State Librarian from 1912 to 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Claribel Wheeler</span> American nurse

Claribel Augusta Wheeler was an American nurse, educator, and hospital administrator. She was executive secretary of the National League of Nursing Education from 1932 to 1942, superintendent of the Washington University School of Nursing from 1923 to 1931, and president of the Ohio State Nurses Association.

References

  1. ↑ Gagnon, Kyle. "Guide to the Monteria Hightower oral history interview". UNLV Special Collections and Archives. The Regents of the University of Nevada. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 Wilkin, B.T. (2006). African American Librarians in the Far West: Pioneers and Trailblazers. Children's Literature Associat. Scarecrow Press. p. 81. ISBN   978-0-8108-5156-6 . Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  3. ↑ "Masthead". Show-Me Libraries. 41 (2). Missouri State Library: 2. Winter 1990. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  4. ↑ "People - Appointments". ACRL College & Research Libraries News. 48 (4). April 1987. ISSN   0099-0086 . Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  5. 1 2 "News Fronts". American Libraries. 25 (9). American Library Association: 806–896. 1994. ISSN   0002-9769. JSTOR   25633371 . Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  6. 1 2 "Weary of politics, state librarian moves on". American Libraries. 25 (11): 1040. December 1994. ISSN   0002-9769 . Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  7. ↑ St. Lifer, Evan (September 15, 1993). "MO NAMED BOOK CENTER". Library Journal. 118 (15). ISSN   0363-0277 . Retrieved 8 February 2022.
  8. ↑ "Missouri Governor's Conference on Library and Information Services (Jefferson City, Missouri, November 16-17, 1990): Final Report". ERIC. 1991. Retrieved 2022-02-09.
  9. ↑ Archives, L.A. Times (1990-05-16). "NATION : Library Open for Governor's Son". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  10. ↑ Charton, Scott (May 20, 1990). "Use of Closed State Library by Governor's Family Draws Ridicule". AP News. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  11. ↑ "MINUTES OF THE". Nevada Legislature. 1999-05-25. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  12. ↑ "Las Vegas news briefs". Las Vegas Sun. 1999-04-09. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  13. ↑ "MPLA Member Named Administrator of Nevada State Library and Archives" (PDF). MPLA Newsletter. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  14. ↑ "Obituaries". American Libraries. 29 (1). American Library Association: 95. 1998. ISSN   0002-9769. JSTOR   25634799 . Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  15. ↑ Bidlack, Russell (1983). "The Awakening: Genealogy as it Relates to Library Services". Reference Quarterly. 23 (2): 171–180. ISSN   1094-9054 . Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  16. 1 2 "Names in the News". Connecticut Libraries. 12 (1): 35. Winter 1970. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "Health and Rehabilitative Library Services". AHIL Quarterly. 14 (3–4): 19. Summer–Fall 1974. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  18. ↑ Commonalities and Diversities in Public Library Programming in a Pluralistic Society, Serving our Ethnic Publics. (Book, 1976) [WorldCat.org]. OCLC   425233487 . Retrieved 2022-02-04– via WorldCat.org.
  19. ↑ "Affirmative Action at ALA". Library Journal. 113 (4): 38. March 1, 1988. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "Commencement : University of Maryland, College Park". Internet Archive. 2022-01-14. Retrieved 2022-02-04.
  21. ↑ Dunhill, Priscilla (June 13, 1968). "Dust Gathers on the Public Library". The Reporter. 38 (12): 35. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.