Reading Builds Much-Needed Community
By Kim Villalva
Electra Collins Doren
During this lengthy time of quarantine that we have been in, many people have turned to reading to help pass the time. Reading is a wonderful hobby and libraries have played a big part in building reading in their communities, especially in Dayton, Ohio. The historical figure from the Woman’s Club of Dayton Foundation that we are featuring today is a remarkable woman, a leader in her field, who paved the way for books to reach those who couldn’t get to a library branch due to living in outlying areas.
As we look forward to when libraries in the state of Ohio may be able to open once again, let’s recognize and celebrate one of the Woman’s Club of Dayton’s prominent members, Electra Doren.
Electra Collins Doren (1861-1927) was a pioneer in the Dayton Public Library, serving as Chief Librarian when the first branch libraries began. Her library career started at the age of 18 and even after leaving in 1905 to direct the Western Reserve Library School, she returned to Dayton following the 1913 flood. Her efforts to salvage damaged library materials and to prepare the library to reopen, occurred within just three months after the flood waters receded.
She also established the first school library department and led the reorganization of library materials into the Dewey Decimal System. Her library leadership did not stop in Dayton. As one of the founders of the Ohio Library Association, she served as its President in 1906. Additionally, she held the office of Vice President in the American Library Association.
Ms. Doren was a suffragist and donated her large collection of suffragist papers to the Dayton Library. Her collection of diaries, scrapbooks and letters formed the foundation of the Dayton Metro Library’s suffrage materials, making it the largest collection of suffrage materials in the country.
She went on to help form the League of Women Voters of Dayton in 1920.
Ms. Doren was inducted into Dayton’s Walk of Fame in 1997 and into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 1999.
When libraries reopen following the quarantine, check out the Electra C. Doren Branch, the oldest in the Dayton Metro System which was first opened in 1928. Located in historic Old North Dayton, the Electra C. Doren branch is one of the few public buildings in the U.S. that is named after a woman.
In the meantime, why not continue reading and keep looking to history for inspiration to get through these difficult times. We can build community, even now, while we are still apart. Women leaders, like Electra Doren, left quite a legacy for us to continue.
To read more about Electra C. Doren and other prominent women leaders from the Woman’s Club of Dayton Foundation, please check out the book, Empowered Women: History of Dayton Women and the Dayton Woman’s Club, available now for FREE download from Children’s Historical Publishing. Click on the link on the Children’s Historical Publishing homepage.
Research for this article came from Empowered Women: History of Dayton Women and the Dayton Woman’s Club, the Women of Library History, and the Dayton Daily News.
