Mudge, Isadore (1875–1957)

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Mudge, Isadore (1875–1957)

American librarian. Born Isadore Gilbert Mudge, Mar 14, 1875, in Brooklyn, NY; died May 16, 1957, in Baltimore, MD; dau. of Alfred Eugene Mudge (lawyer) and Mary Gilbert (Ten Brook) Mudge; Cornell University, PhB, 1897; New York State Library School, BLS, 1900.

Worked at University of Illinois at Urbana as reference librarian and assistant professor, teaching reference work and book selection (1900–03); was head librarian at Bryn Mawr College (1903–07); with close companion Minnie Earle Sears, published Thackeray Dictionary (1910) and George Eliot Dictionary (1924); became editor of Guide to Reference Books, issued by American Library Association (ALA, 1910), and compiled editions 3-6 (1917, 1923, 1929, 1936); created annual review of new reference books for Library Journal (1911–29); worked at Columbia University as reference librarian (1911–41), creating outstanding reference library, and taught at School of Library Services (1926–42), becoming associate professor (1927). ALA established Isadore Gilbert Mudge Citation, annual award for "distinguished contribution to reference librarianship" (1958).