A woman of extraordinary business ability, quenchless energy, and a great executive force. — Charles Lummis (image via Los Angeles Public Library) In 1889, Tessa Kelso became the fourth woman hired as the head librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library. But she was the first head librarian to institute some radical changes: she pioneered a branch system to open multiple locations across the city; under her leadership, the library adopted the Dewey Decimal System to organize volumes; she hired an assistant librarian dedicated to training young women in library sciences.
A Woman to Know: Tessa Kelso
A Woman to Know: Tessa Kelso
A Woman to Know: Tessa Kelso
A woman of extraordinary business ability, quenchless energy, and a great executive force. — Charles Lummis (image via Los Angeles Public Library) In 1889, Tessa Kelso became the fourth woman hired as the head librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library. But she was the first head librarian to institute some radical changes: she pioneered a branch system to open multiple locations across the city; under her leadership, the library adopted the Dewey Decimal System to organize volumes; she hired an assistant librarian dedicated to training young women in library sciences.