Edward C. Williams: First African American Male Library Science Graduate

Edward Christopher Williams (1871-1929) was the first African American male to receive a formal education in library science. He graduated from the New York State Library School in 1900. In addition, Mr. Williams was the first African American director of the Howard University Library System (1916-1929); was the librarian for Adelbert College (part of Western Reserve University - now Case Western Reserve University) in Cleveland, Ohio; and was one of several notable African American attendees at the 1928 Annual Meeting of the American Library Association in West Baden, Indiana.

Update 5/26/2014:

Edward Christopher Williams is briefly mentioned in an I wrote an article on Lillian Haydon Childress Hall. The article was featured in the latest issue of Indiana Libraries (v. 33, no. 1). The link is below:

Fenton, Michele T. "Stepping Out on Faith: Lillian Haydon Childress Hall, Pioneer Black Librarian." Indiana Libraries 33.1 (2014): 5-11. Print."


See related posts: ALA History: 1928 Annual Conference of the American Library Association, West Baden, Indiana ; Virginia Proctor Powell Florence: First African American Female Library Science Graduate.

Update 11/17/2015:

Edward Christopher Williams is briefly mentioned in a piece I wrote on Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.):

Fenton, Michele. "Dunbar High School." African American Leadership: A Concise Reference Guide. [Santa Barbara, CA]: Mission Bell Media, 2015. 79-81. Print.
                                                                                                                                                       
Sources: “HUL Directors.” Library System, Howard University.  Howard University, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. ;  Mills, Paul T. “Edward Christopher Williams, 1871-December 24, 1929.” The Black Renaissance in Washington, D.C., 1920-1930s.  District of Columbia Public Library, 20 June 2003. Web. 22 Sept. 2010. ; Jordan, Casper Leroy, and Josey, E.J. “A Chronology of Events in Black Librarianship.” Handbook of Black Librarianship, Ed. E.J.  Josey and Marva L. DeLoach. 2nd ed. Lanham: Scarecrow, 2000. 3. Print. ; Scott, Diane R. Celebrating African American Librarians. Feb. 2009: 1. Print. ; Dawson, Alma. “Celebrating African American Librarians and Librarianship.” Library Trends 49.1 (2000): 62. Print. ; Latimer, Carlos. Edward Christopher Williams and His Impact on Librarianship. Springfield: ERIC Document Reproduction Service, 1994. Print. ; A Directory of Negro Graduates of Accredited Library Schools, 1900-1936. Washington: Columbia Civic Library Association, 1937. 24, 26. Print. ; Sinnette, Elinor D. V. Arthur Alfonso Schomburg, Black Bibliophile & Collector: A Biography. New York: New York Public Library, 1989. 141, 145, 150. Print. ; Josey, E.J. "Edward Christopher Williams: A Librarian's Librarian." Journal of Library History 4 (1969): 106-107. Print. ;  Josey, E.J. "Foreword." Educating Black Librarians: Papers from the 50th Anniversary Celebration of the School of Library and Information Sciences, North Carolina Central University. Ed. Benjamin F. Speller, Jr. Jefferson: McFarland, 1991. ix-xi. Print. ; “West Baden, Ind.” Indianapolis Recorder 9 June 1928: 7. Print. ; Fiftieth Annual Meeting Advanced Attendance Register, May 27-June 2, 1928, West Baden, Indiana. [Chicago]: American Library Association, 1928. 14. Print. ; “Annual Conference, 1920-1929.”  Past Annual Conference, 1876-Present. American Library Association, 2012. Web. 4 Jan. 2012. ; “West Baden Conference May 28 to June 2.” Library Occurrent 8.7 (1928): 255-256. Print. ; Jefferson, Julius C. “The Black Male Librarian: An Endangered Species.” The National Diversity in Libraries Conference. Louisville Marriott Downtown, Louisville, KY. 3 Oct. 2008. Pdf. ; Porter, Dorothy B. "Phylon Profile, XIV: Edward Christopher Williams." Phylon (1940-1956) 8.4 (1947): 315-321. Print. ; Fenton, Michele T. "Stepping Out on Faith: Lillian Haydon Childress Hall, Pioneer Black Librarian." Indiana Libraries 33.1 (2014): 5-11. Print.