Biography: Anne Isabel Hume (1892–1966)

For many years, Anne Hume was a dynamic force in Canadian librarianship. From 1936–57, she was the Chief Librarian of Windsor, Ontario, a city that grew to more than 120,000 population during her tenure. During this time, Ann Hume grew with the city: she was a founding member of the Windsor Art Association and the Education Council, a co-organizer of the Institute of Community Leadership, a charter member of the Nutrition Council, a charter member and director of Windsor and District Film Council, a charter member and later the President of the University Women’s Club, a charter member of the Zonta Club, and President of the Music, Literature and Art Club. She was on the executive of the Windsor Council of Women and on the Community Welfare Council, a member of Assumption University of Windsor Senate, a member of the Adult Education Commission, and served on the board of the YWCA. On a professional basis, she was President of the Ontario Library Association (1940–41) and President of the Canadian Library Association (1954–55). Anne Hume was a charming hostess at home as well as other venues and enjoyed a good game of golf. She retired to Campbellford in 1963, a town she knew as youngster, and died there in 1966.

I originally posted this biographical synopsis of Anne Hume for the Ex Libris Association in 2021. The post also continues on the current ELA website. The portrait is her graduate BA portrait that appeared in the Queen's Yearbook for the Arts, 1914.

Anne Isabel Hume

b. 5 April 1892, Seymour Twp. (near Campbellford), ON; d. 3 Jan. 1966, Campbellford, ON.

Education:

1914 BA Queen’s University
1915 Specialist Teaching Certificate in English and History Queen’s University
1919 Library certificate Ontario Library School, Toronto
1957 LL.D. Queen’s University

Positions:

1915–19 Ontario High school teacher in Beaverton, New Liskeard and Campbellford
1920 Library Assistant, Fort William Public Library (now Thunder Bay)
1920–36 Chief Librarian, Walkerville Public Library
1936–57 Chief Librarian, Windsor Public Library
Occasional lecturer, McGill and Toronto University Library Schools

Publications:

Hume, Anne (1933). “Adult education and reading lists.” Ontario Library Review 17 (3): 102–104.
Hume, Anne (1937). “City of Windsor Public Library system.” Ontario Library Review 21 (3): 133.
Hume, Anne (1938). “Pensions.” Ontario Library Review 22 (3): 193–194.
Hume, Anne (1939). “Public libraries and the schools.” Ontario Library Review 23 (2): 119–20.
Hume, Anne (1941). “Presidential address [Books in Wartime].” Ontario Library Review 25 (3): 232–234.
Hume, Anne (1944). “An experiment in community integration of the arts.” Ontario Library Review 28 (4): 478–480.
Hume, Anne (1947). “The building programme of the public library in relation to its functions.” Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 24 (2): 42–45, 60.
Hume, Anne (1948). “The public library and the community [Pt. 1].” Quill and Quire 14: 19–21 & 28.
Hume, Anne (1948). “The public library and the community [Pt. 2].” Quill and Quire 14: 37–40.
Hume, Anne (1948). “The Public library and the community [Pt. 3].” Quill and Quire 14: 16–19.
Hume, Anne (1949). “The librarian in the community.” Ontario Library Review 33 (1): 41–44.
Hume, Anne (1949). “Know your Library Week [in Windsor].” Canadian Library Association Bulletin 5 (4): 136–140.
Hume, Anne (1954). “The Year Ahead, 1954-1955.” In Proceedings of the Canadian Library Association 9th Annual Conference Meeting, Halifax, 21–24 June 1954, pp. 30–33. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association.
Hume, Anne (1955). “Seminole Branch Library, Windsor, Ontario.” Ontario Library Review 39 (4): 228–232.
Hume, Anne (1955). “President’s Address.” In Proceedings of the Canadian Library Association 10th Annual Conference Meeting, Saskatoon, 20–25 June 1955, pp. 4–10. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association.

Associations:

President, Ontario Library Association, 1940–1941
President, Canadian Library Association, 1954–1955
American Library Association, councillor
Canadian Association for Adult Education, councillor
founding member of the Windsor Art Association in 1936

“Miss Hume was more than a fine librarian in the technical sense. She was a woman of firm convictions to which she held with perseverance. She was willing to fight for the library cause and had she been lacking in this characteristic she could not have achieved all that she did. Her influence was felt also in many other community organizations in which she had been so active.” — Windsor Star, January 4, 1966

Sources:

 

“Anne Hume: Librarian, Book Service Pioneer Dies,” Windsor Star, January 4, 1966
Canadian Who’s Who 1958–1961
Windsor Public Library video profile of Anne Hume to celebrate International Women’s Day [one-and-a-half minutes]