Francis R. St. John, Date of Birth, Place of Birth, Date of Death
TweetFrancis R. St. John
American librarian
Date of Birth: 16-Jun-1908
Place of Birth: Northampton, Massachusetts, United States
Date of Death: 19-Jul-1971
Profession: librarian
Nationality: United States
Zodiac Sign: Gemini 
About Francis R. St. John
- Francis Regis St.
- John (June 16, 1908 – July 19, 1971) was an American librarian and director of the Brooklyn Public Library from 1949 to 1963.
- In 1999, American Libraries named him one of the "100 Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century".St.
- John was born in Northampton, Massachusetts.
- He attended Northampton High School and worked in the Forbes Library as a page and desk assistant.
- He attended Amherst College, studying botany and working as a student assistant in the library.
- He graduated in 1931 with an AB.
- The next year, he graduated with a BLS from the Columbia University School of Library Service.
- That year he also began working for the New York Public Library, holding a number of positions.
- In 1939, he became assistant director under Joseph L.
- Wheeler at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland.
- Two years later he returned to the NYPL as head of the circulation department.During World War II, from 1943 to 1945, St.
- John worked for the Army Medical Library as acting librarian and then assistant to the director.
- He advanced from lieutenant to captain and was awarded the Legion of Merit for reorganizing the Library.
- He returned again to the NYPL in 1945, before becoming Director of Library Services for the Veterans Administration in 1947.In 1949, St.
- John became director of the Brooklyn Public Library, where he made his national reputation.
- During his tenure, circulation of materials doubled from 5 million to 10 million, the library added 17 new branches for a total of 55, and expansion of the Central Library was completed.
- Innovations like assembly-line book processing reduced costs, which funded expanded services like remedial reading programs.
- He actively recruited African-Americans for professional positions.He retired from the Brooklyn library in 1963.
- From 1964 to 1967, he operated a consulting firm whose clients included numerous state and city library systems in the United States.
- He then became librarian at Saint Anselm College in Goffstown, New Hampshire until 1970.
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