Hello, my name's Anne Lawrence and I work as an academic librarian at the University of East Anglia.
During my time in the special collections department at the Botley and Library, I completed my Masters degree in information and library studies.
I wrote my dissertation on the history of the employment of women at the Botley,
and as after hearing the story of the first female librarian there, I was hooked.
And hopefully you will be to. Most people have an idea of a librarian in their heads.
It's a powerful stereotype and one that most of us working in libraries have rolled our eyes up more than once.
However, at the beginning of the last century, librarians were educated, important figures in society roles which were reserved for men.
I could talk about the social changes, context and campaigns that have occurred over the years that have progressed.
The fight for gender equality in the sector for hours. But I wanted to focus my talk on the individuals at the start of the story at the Bodleian.
The Bodleian Library was established in 16, 02 and over the centuries has acquired vast collections, meaning more work for the librarians.
Edward Dickerson, who became Bodil's librarian in 1882, overhauled procedures to be more efficient.
But he still found it difficult to recruit and retain enough permanent or temporary male staff to cope with the workload.
This led to the situation in 1910, when he suggested hiring a permanent female employee.
Nicholson did hire women as early as 1884, but only as temporary staff.
Although the women were hailed as a cheap alternative, those women at the Bodleian were paid the same as their male counterparts.
He also hired his two daughters, although he paid for them out of his own finances.
In 1986, Francis Underhill of Royal Holloway College alumnus was working at the University of Oxford Examinations
Department when she wrote to Nicholson asking for copy work and she had a desire to work with books,
which I know the feeling she worked on the body and extra staff making catalogue revisions until 1910.
As an exemplary employee, Nicholson wrote to her to offer her a permanent position on the twenty ninth of April 1910.
The conditions of her employment included giving up the assistantship upon marriage, not seeking employment elsewhere for at least 12 months,
giving a month's notice after this period and not working unpaid with elsewhere without permission.
Frances Underhill accepted immediately as a politically aware woman and an active participant in the suffragette movement.
She was only too aware of the monumental nature of this offer.
She stated in the letter of acceptance, I should like to thank you very much for offering me this appointment,
both from a personal point of view and also because it is a progressive step in the recognition of women's work.
However, it was not all smooth sailing.
The nomination received strong opposition from the curators of the library who argued that the Latin translation of the
guidelines governing the university only applied to men so could not be interpreted in a case of appointing a woman.
The matter was referred to a subcommittee in June 1910.
The sub librarians under Nicholson, Falconer, Madeleine and Arthur Cowley found the proposed appointment objectionable.
They argued that women could not perform all the duties required, including shifting books, going up ladders,
taking messages and taking control of others, meaning the male employees would have to take on these extra duties.
They felt women would be unsafe working with men or being left alone in remote parts of the library,
and reason that the staffing crisis could be solved by increasing the wages of the male staff.
Nicholson, who had a famously terrible working relationship with his sub librarians,
responded by letter, countering every argument put forward, his statements included.
There are sections of the library which contain no books beyond the easy power of a woman to shift.
And as regards to going up ladders, I presume that every woman in England worth her salt who has had a chance of climbing
an apple tree has climbed it and Magalia send a ladder to any bodily and ceiling.
The vote on Underhill was appointment was deferred much to the frustration of Nicholson.
He wrote a document outlining his decision to appoint her, explaining so long as the female population of England largely exceeds the male.
So long must there be an increasing prospect of the Bodleian being able to draw on them?
For most of the work it needs at the salaries they can pay.
The vote finally occurred on the twenty ninth of October 1910 and went five to four in favour.
Francis Underhill eventually went on to become head of the catalogue provision section.
Underhill was the only woman on the permanent staff at the body. However, there were other women working in the library on the extra staff.
These photos show just some of these body and staff members.
Between 1911 and 1913, I can definitely see that librarians love of cardigans has a long history.
Working in the Botley and demanded efficiency and quality, as Miss Hammerton found out after attending Somerville College,
she was hired in 1910 on the catalogue of vision staff working beneath Frances Underhill.
In 1913, however, in a letter to the then librarian, Faulkner Martin, who had replaced Nicholson in 1912,
her work was summarised as UN methodical and slow, leading to Underhill recommending her dismissal.
Ms. Underhill, whose opinion was clearly highly regarded as Mr. Martin, followed her advice and dismissed Miss Pemberton almost immediately.
Miss Emison was astonished by this and wrote several letters to Miss Underhill.
Mr. Martin and Mr. Gibson and assistant librarian asking for clarification and proof.
Miss Underhill responded, I think you will realise on consideration that it is a very awkward matter to
discuss the merits or demerits of a person's work with that person herself.
And I do not consider that a conversation such as the one you suggest would serve any useful purpose.
Miss Emmerson conceded and left the library in 1913. The women valued the experience, the body and offered using it to their advantage.
Mishandles, who had attended Cheltenham Ladies College and was hired in 1912, continued to work at the Bodleian until October 1914 in 1921.
She requested a reference to advertise her services in the League of Gentle Women's magazine called Useful Women in Early Day Yellow Pages for Ladies.
My favourites on this list include libraries, catalogue, of course, chaperoning and emergency dinner guests provided.
The advent of the First World War meant increased employment opportunity for women
at the board and the existing female staff joined the war effort where they could.
Francis Underhill sent parcels to the Botley and Men of the Front before volunteering for the voluntary aid detachment and being appointed as a nurse.
In January 1916, she was granted leave of absence with her post waiting for her.
Upon her return, mystic's in a Somerville College alumnus who was appointed in 1912, also volunteered with the V.A. D.
And the pair had crossed paths and kept in touch during their training. They were both deployed to Valetta in Malta in the summer of 1916.
A letter from Mrs Dixon and Underhill to Botley and staffers Mrs Rufo and Poxon details that it took them two
weeks to arrive by boat and that both ships had brought that had brought them to Malta had since been sunk.
Underhill had been working in the town hospital for six weeks.
She stated in the letter that it was extremely hot, noisy and reeked of Gote from morning till night.
Once, Smeltz never forgotten. She was then transferred to the same fever hospital in Taffer, that mystic's and was working in.
They were staying in quarters, were lucky enough to be sharing a room with a balcony which had views to the east, catching all the sunrises.
Due to censorship, the letters talked mostly of the weather of missing Blighty and wishing to be remembered to anyone who knew them.
Friendships between these women endured over distance, demonstrated when Miss Corpo and Poxon had sent parcels of goodies to them.
A good thing, too, as Miss Underhill was always ravenously hungry, according to Mystic's and.
Mystics and herself left the Bodleian in 1917. She had officially resigned in 1916, but was also told that her job would be waiting for her.
Upon her return from the war, if she wanted, she was recalled from her nursing duties in Malta when her mother was suffering from cancer.
Following her war service, she took up a position working under the Foreign Office librarian.
She went on to marry Lieutenant A.R. Baker in 1921 in London.
In 1920, in a letter to a bodily an employee, she responded to the information that the catalogue revision section was to be closed by Mr Mardon,
an action she described as the paying of an ancient grudge.
It was indeed a terrible feminin invasion to one professedly antifeminist.
Ms. Underhill herself remained unmarried. In June 1917, she sent a letter to Mr. Madelin stating her intention to return to work in the library.
However, she was then asked to work for the Ministry of Food, where her experience and qualifications would be of considerable value.
Although it started as a secondment, it would prove to be the start of an international career for Francis.
And on December the twenty eighth, 1917, she wrote to Madeleine and offered her resignation from the Botkin.
She states in the letter. I realised keenly all that my years of work in the bodily and have taught me and I appreciate to the fullest extent the
privilege of being a member of the permanent staff of such a library and having written my own resignation letter to the body.
And I know exactly what she means. Francis Underhill worked for the Ministry of Food from August 1917 to March 1919.
Within this time, she was decorated for her work at the 1918 peace conference,
being awarded an OBE in 1920 and worked as the assistant secretary to various inter allied committees.
She worked on the Organisation of Registry for the British side of the Supreme Economic Council in Paris,
which enabled her to work in Paris, London, Brussels and Rome until not November 1920.
She went on to work as the deputy to the officer in charge of the documentation work for the first assembly, the League of Nations in Geneva.
This enabled her to become a member of the financial section and economic intelligence service of the league.
After this, Francis transferred to the International Labour Office Library in Geneva during her years service there,
she applied for several jobs back in the U.K., but with no success.
She acknowledged herself that she was likely to be too expensive due to her experience.
She wrote a letter in 1937 to Strickland Gibson, a former Bodleian and colleague, that she was looking forward to retiring soon.
Writing a further letter to him 1939, explaining that she was still living in Geneva,
feeling rather homesick and living under war conditions so could not afford to leave.
Very little evidence survives about Frances up after this until her obituary in the Times in 1973.
It states that Frances Underhill, also known as stalky, was nearly 90 when she passed away, seemingly indestructible.
She was a suffragette, a folk dancer and summoned out of retirement at 70 to organise an international conference in New York.
She eventually moved back to Sussex, where she built herself a cottage and a swimming pool to help combat the arthritis she had developed.
She was a strong believer in the Catholic faith and listened to all the news broadcasts she could.
She was an astute follower of politics and even when she was taken into hospital, was adamant to be kept up to date by all accounts.
Stalky was a vibrant, humorous, confident, accomplished and very admirable woman.
Sometimes we can see how the determination and vision of people changes the course of history.
And this is the case with Edward Nicholson. Francis Underhill and the other early staff at the Botin.
Set against the social backdrop of the women's fight for liberation. And in front Triesman,
Edward Nicholson pushed against the entrenched opposition to successfully hire the first full time permanent employee of the Bodleian in its history.
If he had not been so determined or employed women who were so capable and strong, it could have been very different.
Even now, there is still equality challenges to face within the information profession.
However, all stories start somewhere, usually with a visionary and bold person breaking down barriers.
This was certainly the case for the Botley and and without these first progressive steps, women, librarians would not be where they are today.
Something for which I know I am grateful for. Thank you.