Phyllis Richmond
Phyllis Allen Richmond (1921–6 October 1997) was a historian of science and librarian recognized for her work in classification and cataloging. Her dissertation "Americans and the Germ Theory of Disease" was a leading theory of history of medicine for nearly 40 years and she later published seminal work in classification theory.
Early life[edit]
Richmond was born in Boston and grew up in Rochester, NY.[1]
Education and career[edit]
She studied at Western Reserve University where she received a bachelor's degree in history in 1942.[1] At the Rochester Museum of Arts and Sciences she was curator of history from 1943 to 1945 and 1946 to 1947.[1] She received her master's degree in 1946 from University of Pennsylvania[1] She also studied at Bryn Mawr College and Cornell University.[1]
Her Ph.D. in history and philosophy of science was awarded in 1949 from University of Pennsylvania;[2] her dissertation "Americans and the Germ Theory of Disease" was a leading theory of history of medicine for nearly 40 years.[3] She then worked at the Institute of the History of Medicine at Johns Hopkins University.[1]
Richmond returned to Western Reserve from 1952 to 1956 to study library science.[1] From 1955 to 1969 she worked at the University of Rochester in various aspects of librarianship,[2] including computer-produced title-a-line book catalogs and serials lists, which were "leading edge projects for that time".[1]
She taught library & information science first at Syracuse University in 1969.[1] From 1970 until her retirement in 1984 she was a professor at Case Western Reserve University[1]
She formed a U.S. Classification Study Research Group, modeled after the British Classification Research Group to which she belonged[1]
During her career she wrote a book and over 75 research articles.[1] Her work on LCSH was described as seminal.[4]
Life[edit]
Her hobbies included ham radio and cats.[1] In 1997 she died from complications of Alzheimer's disease.[2]
Awards[edit]
- Award of Merit from the Association for Information Science and Technology , 1972[5][6] - she was the first female recipient.[2]
- Margaret Mann Citation, American Library Association, 1977.[7][8]
Selected publications[edit]
- Phyllis Allen Richmond, ‘‘Reading list in classification theory,’’ Library resources & technical services. 16(1972):364-82.
- Phyllis Allen Richmond, ‘‘Cats: An Example of Concealed Classification in Subject Headings,’’ Library Resources & Technical Resources, 3 (Spring 1959), 102-112.
- Phyllis A. Richmond, ‘‘Hierarchical Definition,’’ American Documentation 11 (1960), 91–96.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Williomson, Noncy. "In Memoriom: Phyllis Allen Richmond." (1999). LRTS 43(3) 186-188.
- ^ a b c d La Barre, Kathryn A. "The Art and Science of Classification: Phyllis Allen Richmond, 1921–1997." (2004). Library Trends, Vol. 52, No. 4, Spring 2004, pp. 765–791
- ^ Tomes, Nancy J. "American attitudes toward the germ theory of disease: Phyllis Allen Richmond revisited." Journal of the History of Medicine and Allied Sciences 52.1 (1997): 17-50.
- ^ Cochrane, Pauline Atherton. "Improving LCSH for Use in Online Catalogs Revisited-What Progress Has Been Made? What Issues Still Remain." Cataloging & Classification Quarterly 29.1-2 (2000): 73-89.
- ^ ASIST Award of Merit past winners
- ^ ASIS Newsletter, Volume 11, November–December 1972, page 3
- ^ Cochrane, Pauline Atherton. "In Memoriam Phyllis Allen Richmond: Award of Merit Winner Dies at 76." Journal of the American Society for Information Science (1986–1998) 49.14 (1998): 1246.
- ^ Moore, J. R. (1977). Margaret Mann Citation, 1977: Phyllis Allen Richmond. Library Resources and Technical Services, 21(4), 381–383.
Archival materials[edit]
- Phyllis Allen Richmond papers. Case Western Reserve University Archives (CWRUA).
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Academics | |
- 1921 births
- 1997 deaths
- American librarians
- American women librarians
- University of Pennsylvania alumni
- Bryn Mawr College alumni
- Cornell University alumni
- Johns Hopkins University faculty
- Syracuse University faculty
- Case Western Reserve University alumni
- Case Western Reserve University faculty
- Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in the United States
- American women academics
- People from Boston
- Writers from Rochester, New York
- 20th-century American women
- Historians of libraries