Lucile F. Fargo Papers

Collection

Identifier: WCMss-304

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Lucile F. Fargo Papers houses the personal papers of Lucile F. Fargo. This collection, which dates from 1895 to 1977 consists of correspondence, a scrapbook containing photographs and ephemera from Yankton and Whitman Colleges, a travel journal, miscellaneous writings, and diplomas and school certificates. Fargo’s writings about libraries, fictional stories, and the western United States include magazine, journal, and newspaper articles, as well as book and short-story manuscripts of "Spokane Story" and "Mrs. Hercules, The Story of May Arkwright Hutton.”

Writings about libraries, and the western United States include magazine, journal and newspaper articles as wells as book and short-story manuscripts which include "The Spokane Story" and "Mrs. Hercules, The Story of May Arkwright Hutton", are part of this collection.

Dates

Creation: 1895-1977

Creator

Fargo, Lucile F. (Person)

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Biographical Note

Lucile Foster Fargo, born in Wisconsin in October, 1880, was a writer and influential librarian. After attending Yankton College for two and a half years, she transferred to Whitman College and graduated with a B.A. in 1903 and then an M.A. in English and History in 1904. In college, she wrote extensively for each school’s respective newspaper, often in the narrative fiction form. Shortly after receiving her M.A., she attended the New York State Library School for a year and then moved to Spokane in 1909 to run the North Central High School library. In 1926 she accepted a position as the assistant to the Board of Education for Librarianship of the American Library Association in Chicago. She was also the association’s expert in school libraries. Later, she moved to Nashville to serve as the Director of Library School at Peabody College. Throughout her life, Fargo published several writings including “Seventeen and the Reference Librarian,” “The Library in the School,” “The Program for Elementary School Library Service,” and “Spokane Story.” Fargo died on July 6, 1962 in Berkeley, California.

Extent

2.0 Linear Feet (2 record cartons )

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Abstract

The Lucile F. Fargo Papers houses the personal material of Lucile F. Fargo, a northwest writer and librarian.

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Portions of this collection were donated to the Whitman College and Northwest Archives by Lowden Jones in 1966. For additional materials found in the collection, provenance is unknown.