303:; the total collection including all books, pamphlets, and other materials was roughly 11,000 works. However, the bulk of the collection was not books. By June 1926, the libraries holdings had increased to 13,040 pieces, but included only 1,767 books. Despite such modest beginnings, West envisioned greatness for the library. She was a vocal proponent for the library, its collection and its staff, from the very beginning. She requested additional funds to increase the libraries holdings from the administration at every turn. In correspondence with architect W.W. Watkin over a proposed new library in March 1929, she requested a proposal for a new library design that would hold one million volumes and support ten thousand students. Watkin provided initial sketches for the new structure, but the stock market crash that fall and the ensuing
243:. West worked hard to develop and improve the San Antonio library. She began issuing library bulletins on a regular basis, increased holdings, offered new services to special groups, sought recognition for the library's services in local newspapers, and began a public lecture series. Her activities not only enhanced the services and holdings of the library, they also brought attention to West herself. Word of her activities and success spread and in 1918, after only three years, West would become State Librarian for Texas.
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holdings. West was also notable for lobbying the state for tenure for librarian staff as well as for increased salaries for all library employees. She also worked to lessen the political control of the state library. However, her ongoing frustration with stagnant salaries, budgets, and the tendency of both governors and the state legislature of using the state library as a place to employ patrons of elected officials, led West to resign her position in 1925 to become the first librarian at Texas Tech.
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West left her mark on Texas Tech in other ways. She came up with the name of the university's yearbook, “La
Ventana” (The Window); a name inspired by a small window on the east side of the Administration Building which provided a view across the nascent campus. An association of women faculty was
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During her time in San
Antonio, West opened services of the public library to African Americans for the first time. These services took the form of four stations inside existing African American schools in the city (public schools in Texas would remain segregated by race for decades to come). In
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West was instrumental in the development of services for library patrons from diverse backgrounds during her career. She created the first services for Blind patrons at any library in Texas while head of the San
Antonio Public Library. She repeated this as State Librarian, commencing services in
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At the time of her appointment as
Director of the Texas State Library, West was the first woman to ever head a department of the Texas state government and only the second woman in the history of the U.S. to hold such a position. West became state librarian on September 1, 1918, nearly two years
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in 1906 in the catalog division. Later, she would join the manuscript division of the
Library of Congress where she compiled the Calendar of the Papers of Martin Van Buren in 1910 and the Calendar of the New Mexico Papers. She did not complete this latter tome as in 1911 she returned to Texas to
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As state librarian, West worked to develop the language of the 1919 County
Library Law which meant to facilitate the development of new public libraries across the state. This resulted in the opening of numerous new county public libraries including four in the first two years after the law was
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West entered the position with the same degree of passion and enthusiasm she had shown previously in San
Antonio. Over the next seven years, she would develop the state's first library service for the blind, facilitate the development of numerous county public libraries, and to increase overall
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halted the plans. West would persist in pursuing funds, and in June 1937, the state provided a $ 275,000 appropriation for the construction of a new library. West and other university took turns ringing the victory bells in the
Administration Building in celebration. Groundbreaking for the new
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when she was twelve years old. She would return to
Mississippi to attend college. An avid learner who was intent on attaining as much education as possible, West would go on to earn two bachelor's and one master's degree. She received a bachelor's degree from the
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Austin, she extended services to
African Americans at the state library as well. It would be decades before African Americans would gain full and unfettered access to libraries in Texas, but West's efforts were instrumental in facilitating the process.
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Ms. West came to Texas Technological College in 1925 as Head Librarian, a role she would maintain until 1942. At the time, the university consisted of only a handful of buildings and the library was limited to a single room on the first floor of the
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Bleisch, Pamela R. (2010). Spoilsmen and daughters of the Republic: Political interference in the Texas State Library during the tenure of Elizabeth Howard West, 1911-1925. Libraries & the Cultural Record, 45(4),
162:(March 23, 1873 – January 4, 1948), was a librarian and archivist active in the United States during the early 20th century. West was appointed the Texas State Librarian in 1918, was two time President of the
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Upon completion of her master's degree, West initially worked as a school teacher. She first returned to Mississippi where she taught in a number of rural areas. Later, she would teach in both
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She would remain the head librarian at Tech until her retirement in 1942. She would later supplement her retirement income by working as a researcher with the Department of History there.
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also given its name by West: the “Quarterly Club” so named because the group met quarterly and whose membership dues were one quarter. Ms. West founded the Lubbock chapter of the
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become archivist of the Texas State Library, a position she would hold until 1915. Her first foray into library administration came in 1915, when she moved south to
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alumni association formed a volunteer service to promote embossed text literacy which was named the Elizabeth H. West Home Teaching Circle in honor of her work.
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Griggs, Brian H. (2020). Opus in Brick and Stone:The Architectural and Planning Heritage of Texas Tech University. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech University Press.
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in Columbus, Mississippi (now Mississippi University for Women.) She later received both a bachelor's and master's degree in history from the
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Horn Andrews, Ruth. (1956). The First Thirty Years: A History of Texas Technological College 1925-1955. Lubbock, TX: Texas Tech Press.
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Hester, Golida Ann. (1965). Elizabeth Howard West, Texas Librarian (Master's Thesis). Austin, TX: University of Texas at Austin.
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519:"Library Catalog: West, Elizabeth Howard, The cartography of French and Spanish expansion in North America, Thesis 1901 W52"
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alternate format books for Blind patrons in September 1919. She acquired a collection of primarily fiction texts in
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198:. West moved to Texas when her father, a Presbyterian minister, assumed duties at a church in
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After suffering a heart attack in 1946, West retired from Texas Tech in 1947 and moved to
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where she focused on the expansion of French and Spanish settlements in North America.
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West was born to Rev. James Durham West D.D. and Mary Robertson (née Waddell) West in
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building was held on October 27, 1937, and the cornerstone laid on March 8, 1938.
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Texas Tech University, Southwest Collection, Special Collections Library
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467:. Accessed via ancestry.com paid subscription site, 30 October 2022.
222:. She began training as a librarian in 1905 as a cataloger at the
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574:"A Listing of the Administrative Heads of Texas Tech University"
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University of Texas at Austin College of Liberal Arts alumni
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Bessie H. West in the 1880 United States Federal Census
282:. Her efforts were well received, and members of the
366:"Elizabeth Howard West: An Inventory of Her Papers"
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284:Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired
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186:on March 27, 1873. Her maternal grandfather was
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521:. The University of Texas at Austin
368:. The University of Texas at Austin
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651:People from Pontotoc, Mississippi
239:to take the directorship of the
205:Industrial Institute and College
168:Southwestern Library Association
94:Mississippi University for Women
331:. She died on January 4, 1948.
174:(later Texas Tech University).
137:Mary Robertson Waddell (mother)
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656:Texas Tech University faculty
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265:Services to Diverse Audiences
209:University of Texas at Austin
98:University of Texas at Austin
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172:Texas Technological College
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252:before the passage of the
241:San Antonio Public Library
190:, former President of the
160:Elizabeth H. (Howard) West
134:James Durham West (father)
641:American women librarians
548:"Texas Library Champions"
196:University of Mississippi
164:Texas Library Association
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666:American women academics
301:Administration Building
194:and Chancellor of the
123:Librarian and Educator
636:Librarians from Texas
247:Texas State Librarian
192:University of Georgia
184:Pontotoc, Mississippi
49:Pontotoc, Mississippi
42:Elizabeth Howard West
23:Elizabeth Howard West
323:Later life and death
294:Texas Tech Librarian
554:on 3 September 2018
228:Library of Congress
224:Texas State Library
329:Pensacola, Florida
115:late 1890s to 1947
67:Pensacola, Florida
16:American librarian
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112:Years active
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556:. Retrieved
552:the original
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370:. Retrieved
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188:Moses Waddel
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149:Moses Waddel
61:(1948-01-04)
631:1948 deaths
626:1873 births
237:San Antonio
178:Early years
74:Citizenship
620:Categories
335:References
104:Occupation
583:April 10,
316:in 1926.
276:Moon type
145:Relatives
107:Librarian
82:Education
508:383-413.
261:passed.
272:Braille
128:Parents
278:, and
220:Austin
558:2 May
525:5 May
372:2 May
216:Bryan
200:Bryan
585:2022
560:2014
527:2014
374:2014
218:and
56:Died
38:Born
230:in
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