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University of Michigan Bentley Historical Library

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Theodore Wesley Koch Papers, 1894-1941

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Summary

Creator:
Koch, Theodore Wesley, 1871-1941
Abstract:
Librarian at the Library of Congress, University of Michigan and Northwestern University, and bibliophile. Correspondence, articles and pamphlets, papers relating to his books and articles, and topical files relating to his interest in Carnegie Libraries, literary forgeries, the work of the American Library Association's Library War Service during World War I, library Americanization programs, 1919-1921, and the library building of University of Michigan; also photographs.
Extent:
12 linear feet
1 oversize folder
Language:
English
Call Number:
851701 Aa 2; UAm
Authors:
Finding aid created by Michigan Historical Collections staff

Background

Scope and Content:

The Koch papers are very incomplete for the part of his career before he went to Northwestern. Much of the earliest correspondence deals with the gathering of material for his "A Portfolio of Carnegie Libraries," Very little material on his work at the University of Michigan has survived, although a few reports from Byron A. Finney on the operation of the library and copies of Koch's proposal for a new library in 1915 are included in the collection.

Although the collection is much larger for the years after 1919, it is apparent that even for these years many of his professional files were either retained by the Northwestern University Library or destroyed. There is surprisingly little information on the activities of the A.L.A. or other professional organizations. Much of the correspondence consists of family and personal mail rather than the activities of the Northwestern library.

A high proportion of the material from this period relates to the writing and publication of his many books and pamphlets. Although Koch's files on Carnegie libraries, literary forgeries, the A.L.A. Library War Service, and Americanization programs may be of interest to scholars, many of his publications involved the translation and publication of works aimed merely at bibliophiles. These works were often published by such groups as the Caxton Club of Chicago or the Roxburgh Club of San Francisco which are interested in printing as an art form.

Biographical / Historical:

Theodore W. Koch (1871-1941) was for many years a prominent figure in American librarianship. After completing his M.A. degree at Harvard University in 1894, he was employed by the library at Cornell University to catalogue the Fiske Collection of Dante material. He worked at the Library of Congress from 1902 to1904 and then moved on to the library of the University of Michigan, where he served as assistant librarian,1904-1905, and librarian,1905-1916.

A dispute with the Board of Regents led to his dismissal from his post at the University of Michigan so he returned to the Library of Congress, where he served as chief of the order division. During World War I he was involved in the American Library Association's Library War Service program to provide books for soldiers. In 1919 he was appointed librarian of Northwestern University where he served until his death in 1941.

Acquisition Information:
The collection was the gift of Mrs. Dorothy Koch Bestor (donor no. 4120 ) and came to the library in 1964 and 1973. Other files were transferred from the Graduate Library of the University of Michigan (donor no. 1278 ).

Subjects

Click on terms below to find any related finding aids on this site.

Subjects:
Americanization.
Libraries -- United States.
World War, 1914-1918.
Emigration and immigration.
Libraries -- United States.
World War, 1914-1918.
Formats:
Photographs.
Names:
American Library Association.
Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.)
University of Michigan -- Faculty.
University of Michigan. Library.
Apostles Club (University of Michigan)
Detroit Public Library.
Ellis Island Immigration Station (N.Y. and N.J.)
University of Michigan. Law Library.
University of Michigan. Medical Library.
National Committee of the United States for the Restoration of the University of Louvain.
Koch, Theodore Wesley, 1871-1941.
Adams, Randolph Greenfield, 1892-1951.
Barbour, Levi L. (Levi Lewis), 1840-1925.
Barrett, Albert M. (Albert Moore), 1871-1936.
Belden, Charles Francis Dorr, 1870-1931.
Boucke, Ewald A. (Ewald Augustus), 1871-
Bowker, R. R. (Richard Rogers), 1848-1933.
Champion, Edouard, 1882-1938.
Cross, Arthur Lyon, 1873-1940.
Demmon, Isaac Newton, 1842-1920.
Douglas, Lloyd C. (Lloyd Cassel), 1877-1951.
Evans, Charles, 1850-1935.
Fife, Robert Herndon, 1871-1958.
Finney, Byron Alfred, 1849-1938.
Foote, Henry Wilder, 1875-1964.
Garland, Hamlin, 1860-1940.
Gillette, Fredericka Botsford, 1875-
Goodrich, Francis Lee Dewey, 1877-1962.
Hale, Edward Everett, 1822-1909.
Huebsch, B. W. (Benjamin W.), 1876-1964.
Hutchins, Harry B. (Harry Burns), 1847-1930.
Jordan, Myra Beach, 1863-1946.
Knopf, Alfred A., 1892-1984.
Lorch, Emil, 1870-1963.
MacChesney, Nathan William, 1878-1954.
McMurtrie, Douglas C. (Douglas Crawford), 1888-1944.
Mason, William Smith, 1866-
Milan, Carl Hastings, 1884-1963.
Norton, Charles Eliot, 1827-1908.
Otis, William Augustus, 1855-1929.
Putnam, Herbert, 1861-1955.
Richardson, Ernest Cushing, 1860-1939.
Sawyer, Walter H. (Walter Hulme), 1861-1931.
Scott, Walter Dill, 1869-1955.
Snyder, Franklin Bliss, 1884-1958.
Stevenson, Burton Egbert, 1872-1962.
Todd, Albert May, 1850-1931.
White, Andrew Dickson, 1832-1918.
Wilson, Halsey William, 1868-1954.
Zweig, Stefan, 1881-1942.

Contents

Using These Materials

Info for Visitors

How to Request

Ordering Reproductions

Download PDF Finding Aid
RESTRICTIONS:

The collection is open to research.

USE & PERMISSIONS:

Copyright is held by the Regents of the University of Michigan but the collection may contain third-party materials for which copyright is not held. Patrons are responsible for determining the appropriate use or reuse of materials.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[item], folder, box, Theodore Wesley Koch Papers , Bentley Historical Library, University of Michigan

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Collection

Theodore Wesley Koch Papers, 1894-1941
Call Number 851701 Aa 2; UAm
Total components 100
Last indexed 2023-12-08