Hannah Logasa
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Hannah Logasa (1879-1967) is considered the pioneer of school libraries. Logasa is credited with identifying the necessity of libraries in school and worked to achieve strong interaction between the library, students, and teachers at the University of Chicago Laboratory High School.
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[edit] Early life
Hannah Logasa was the daughter of Seth Moses Logasa, an immigrant from the Ukraine and a Sephardic Jew. She had a brother Charles Logasa and a sister named Jeanie Deana Bogen nee Logasa.
[edit] Career
From 1904 to 1914 Logasa worked at the Omaha Public Library in Omaha, Nebraska. During this period she attended class in library science at the State University of Iowa. In 1914 she was hired at University of Chicago Laboratory School as a librarian. Her work in promoting school libraries both at Lab and nationally led her to be given the a position as an instructor of Education at the University of Chicago in 1928. In 1929 she began teaching home study courses in library science. She remained at the University until 1939, although due to her importance she was left on the roles of faculty until her death.
[edit] School libraries
Logasa is considered the pioneer of school libraries. She is credited with identifying the necessity of libraries in school and worked to achieve strong interaction between the library, students, and teachers at the University of Chicago High School. She was a member of the National Education Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and the American Association of School Librarians. Logasa wrote a number of indices that became known as definitive sources. They include indices to plays, poems, and non-fiction of the period.
[edit] Soybeans and Israel
During the late 1940s and early 1950s Logasa became interested in the fledgling nation of Israel. In order to help the new nation she decided to try and identify a potential staple crop, and after extensive research she determined soybeans could help the Israeli government feed its people and sent her report to them. The report was well received and Israel began planting soybeans.
[edit] Death
Logasa died in a hotel in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1967. Her will stipulated that "proceeds from her books were to go to the University [of Chicago]...", and she also left money for the Omaha Public Library "for the purchase of books".
