Ralph Munn

Munn was born in Aurora, Illinois to Dr. Walter (a dentist) and Jennie W. Munn. He was raised in Colorado. He attended Ohio State University Moritz College of Law from 1912 to 1913 where he was a member of Sigma Pi fraternity. He transferred to the University of Denver where he received both his bachelor of law degree from Sturm College of Law in 1915 and bachelor of arts degrees in 1917. He served in the United States Army from April 1917 to July 1919 in the 30th Ambulance Company. He served at Camp Dodge, Iowa from September 1917 to July 1918 and became a sergeant. He served in the headquarters of the 88th Infantry Division of the American Expeditionary Forces from August 1918 to July 1919 and served in Sorbonne, Paris from February to July 1919, He became a master hospital sergeant. After his military service, he received his Bachelor of Library Science degree from New York State Library School at Albany in 1921. Thereafter, worked as a librarian at the Seattle Public Library in Washington state and later at the Flint Public Library in Michigan, before finally accepting the position of Director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, from 1928 to 1964, during which time he also served as Director, then Dean, of the Carnegie Library School of Carnegie Institute of Technology. ==Professional career==

The highlights of Munn's contributions to his field during his tenure as Director of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh can be summarized chiefly as the perpetration of the idea of the public library as "educational, informational, and cultural", the expansion and unification of library services, and his influence in establishing an American-modeled library system and professional librarianship in Australia and New Zealand. reaching out in particular to young people and rural areas through bookmobile services and free borrowing privileges. The resulting Munn-Pitt Report had a major impact in Australia. In an article published in the Australian Library Journal evaluating the survey's impact, the author states that "the key recommendations of the Munn-Pitt report were easily identified by its lay readers: 1. to establish tax-supported municipal 'free libraries'; and 2. to strengthen and extend librarianship by professionalizing the training and registration of librarians." Munn certainly did his part to assist in the latter recommendation, drafting a number of young Australian professionals to work in American libraries and assisting them however possible. One such librarian recalled Munn in a positive light, saying, "Not only did he make places on his staff available, he also took a personal interest in each Australian 'incumbent', ensuring that, at all times, they were treated in the same way as their American colleagues, in such matters as salary and staff activities." {{cite journal The assistance of these predominantly female librarians also brings into focus an uncannily prescient viewpoint that Munn established in an aptly titled Library Journal essay, "It Is a Mistake to Recruit Men". Just after World War II, there was a great increase in men looking for jobs, and Munn was of the opinion that in the case of jobs in the library field, these men were "simply looking for a secure and not too difficult job." {{cite journal operate against the profession, both by filling it with men of mediocre caliber and by discouraging the entrance of superior women ... Throughout the predictable future, it is sure to be mainly a woman's occupation. It should, therefore, be kept attractive to the ablest of women. ==Legacy==

Munn's tenure at the Carnegie Public Library ended upon his October 1, 1964 retirement. He died in Pittsburgh on January 2, 1975. In recognition of his authorship and outreach and development of services directed at young people, the annual "Ralph Munn Creative Writing Contest" has been established in his name at the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh. {{cite web ==Honors and accomplishments==

In his career, Munn earned a number of honors, including: • Pennsylvania Library Association President, 1930–31 • American Library Association President, 1939–40 • Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws, 1940, University of Pittsburgh • Distinguished Service Award, 1959, Pennsylvania Library Association • Honorary Degree of Doctor of Laws, 1960, Waynesburg College in Pennsylvania • Director Emeritus, 1964, Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh ==References==