WHAT WOULD MARGARET DUNBAR SAY?!?

Margaret Dunbar (1872-1957), a trailblazing leader who founded two university libraries, began her storied career in west central Illinois. A product of Monmouth Public Schools, she earned her B.A. in Literature at Monmouth College in 1896. She later enrolled at the Illinois State Library School at the University of Illinois and graduated in 1902 with a Bachelor of Library Science (B.L.S.), the terminal degree for professional librarians in that era. Dunbar held two academic degrees before women had yet won the right to vote!

Hearing of her talent and promise, President John Henninger recruited Dunbar to join the faculty and start an academic library at the Western Illinois State Normal School (later, Western Illinois University), which opened on September 23, 1902 with 229 students. Lacking both resources and facilities, Dunbar initially fashioned a small library on a balcony overlooking the assembly hall (later the gymnasium) in Sherman Hall, but within the year had secured a large room on the second floor. Dunbar’s library had only 663 volumes at the end of the first academic year, but by 1910 she had built a sizeable 10,000-volume collection.

Dunbar’s professional success was soon noticed as she was recruited to become the first librarian of the newly formed Kent State Normal School in 1913. Aided by her younger sister, Isabelle, who was named Asst. Librarian at Kent State, Dunbar began building the second academic library of her career. Dunbar and her sister were known to be “kind-hearted,” and individuals who put students first. Kent State’s 1916 yearbook also noted Dunbar’s sound counsel and adventurous spirit:

"It doesn’t matter what your problem is—whether it is concerned with a book or not—her judgment is always good, and she is always pleased to help. In a word, she is worth knowing, and she loves the 'Bluebird,' her Buick roadster."

Dunbar would continue to give back to her profession over the course of her lengthy career as she held offices in both the Ohio Library Association and the American Library Association. After 40 years of outstanding professional library service – from Western Illinois to Kent State – Dunbar finally retired in 1943.

In 1959, Dunbar Hall, a new women’s residence hall, was dedicated in the memory of Margaret Dunbar. Dunbar Hall has been home to more than 12,000 students since its dedication.

We celebrate Margaret Dunbar’s tremendous legacy and her outstanding professional achievements, including her role as WIU’s first Librarian (1902-1912). As fellow librarians, we have a good sense of who Margaret was and what she stood for: her determination, her principles, her spirit.

We know – without question – that Margaret would strongly disapprove the very notion of eliminating ALL the librarians at Western Illinois University. Margaret would say, "NO! Do Not Fire The Librarians! Change Course; Do Better by Our Students!"

If the current Administration insists upon dishonoring Western's heritage and Margaret's library legacy, it will endanger our current and future students' academic success. To prevent this from happening, call President Mindrup's office and tell the Administration it should make a course correction. Bring back the Librarians!

Do it for Margaret — do it for Western's students!

—Isaac Hunter Dunlap, a WIU librarian

---

Selected Sources

University of Illinois. Alumni Record of the University of Illinois at Urbana (1906). Urbana, IL, p. 306, books.google.com/books?id=TSEMAQAAMAAJ

Dunlap, Isaac Hunter. "The Library's Beginning: Dunbar and Sherman Hall." from The Millionth Volume Celebration Exhibit. WIU Libraries, October 2002, www.wiu.edu/library/events/mvc/sherman.htm

Hallwas, John E. First Century : a Pictorial History of Western Illinois University. (Macomb, IL: Western Illinois University, 1999).

Hicken, Victor. The Purple and the Gold. (Macomb, IL: WIU Foundation, 1970).

"John McGilvrey." Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, 12 October 2023, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ John_McGilvrey. Accessed 17 Sept. 2024.

"Margaret Dunbar." Kent State Magazine. Spring/Summer 2021, www.kent.edu/magazine/margaret-dunbar. Accessed 17 Sept. 2024.

Western Illinois University. The Sequel (1902-1914). Macomb, IL. collections.carli.illinois.edu/cdm/landingpage/collection/wiu_sequel