JOHN COTTON DANA PAPERS

Collection

Identifier: WH116

Staff Only

SCOPE AND CONTENT NOTE

The John Cotton Dana papers consist of correspondence, publications and scrapbooks, which document his career in the library and education system. The scrapbooks contain programs, correspondence, newspaper clippings, brochures, memos and forms from Dana's work for the Denver Public Library and the Colorado Board of Education, School District No. 1, along with material from the Free Library of Philadelphia and the American Library Association. The papers also contain correspondence from his work at the Free Library of Newark, New Jersey. In addition, numerous articles about or paying tribute to Dana are included in the collection.

SERIES 1 BUSINESS PAPERS 1894-1928 BOX 1-2

The series consists of correspondence and scrapbooks, which contain programs, memos, newspaper clippings, library forms, circulars and correspondence. Three scrapbooks document his work with the Denver Public Library and the Colorado Board of Education. One scrapbook records the American Library Association convention in Philadelphia in 1897. This scrapbook includes conference programs, newspaper clippings and material, mostly forms, from the Free Library of Philadelphia. The series also contains correspondence sent by John Cotton Dana while he worked at the Free Public Library of Newark, New Jersey and the book, Library Primer by Dana.

SERIES 2 PAPERS AND ARTICLES ON DANA [1887-1934], 1926-1979 BOX 2

Material in the series consists of articles written about Dana in newspapers and magazines, along with a manuscript titled John Cotton Dana: A Sketch by Chalmers Headley, one of the successive city librarians in Denver after Dana. Papers also include book reviews and correspondence regarding the articles. Three folders contain copies of original material (correspondence, photos and newspaper clippings) held in the Dana Papers at the Newark Public Library.

SERIES 3 OVERSIZE 1979

The series contains the publication Newark an American City, which contains information about Dana's career and importance to the city. One of the authors, Charles E. Cummings, worked at the Newark Public Library.

Dates

1887-1979

ACCESS:

The collection is open for research.

OWNERSHIP:

The John Cotton Dana papers are the physical property of the Denver Public Library.

PUBLICATION RIGHTS:

All requests for permission to publish, reproduce, or quote from material in the collection should be discussed with the appropriate librarian or archivist. Permission for publication may be given on behalf of the Denver Public Library as the owner of the physical item. It is not intended to include or imply permission of the copyright holder, which also must be obtained by the customer. The Library does not assume any responsibility for infringement of copyright or publication rights of the manuscript held by the writer, heirs, donors, or executors. Reproduction restrictions are decided on a case-by-case basis.

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTE

John Cotton Dana was born on August 19, 1856 in Woodstock, Vermont. He graduated from Dartmouth in 1878. Afterwards, Dana began studying law but due to ill health, he relocated to Colorado. Dana spent nearly two years in Colorado as a surveyor of mining claims. His work took him as far as Mesa Verde. While surveying, Dana continued his legal studies. In 1880, Dana was admitted to the Colorado Bar. He returned to the East Coast and continued his law studies in New York City. In 1883, he was admitted to the New York Bar. After two years in New York, Dana went to Minnesota, where he began to practice law and edited the Ashby Avalanche.

In 1888, he returned to Colorado and married Adine Rowena Waggner in Glenwood Springs. After their marriage, Dana began working at the Denver Public Library. At this time, the Denver school system administered and controlled the Library. Dana served in a double capacity: as a librarian and as secretary of the Colorado Board of Education, Arapahoe County School District No. 1. In 1895, the American Library Association elected Dana as president of the organization and chairman of its committee to prepare for the conference in Denver.

At the end of 1897, Dana left Denver to take the post of librarian in Springfield, Massachusetts. He belonged to the Round Table Club, which gave him a farewell dinner at the Windsor Hotel. He stayed in Springfield until 1902, when he accepted the position of librarian at the Free Public Library of Newark New Jersey. A position he held until his death in 1929.

Library leader and innovator, Dana has been the subject of several books.