Like a treasured family heirloom on display, a small
glass-enclosed consultation room adorns Walter Library's
splendid main reading room. When the library opened
in 1924, that charming nook was an exalted space. Here,
reference librarian Ina Firkins kept watch over a collection
that she had tended and cultivated since 1889.
Brilliant, talented, and resourceful, Firkins was born
in 1866 and graduated from the University in 1888 with
a bachelor's degree in literature. Back then, teaching
was one of the few professions open to women, but it
didn't appeal to Firkins. When University Librarian
William Folwell offered her a job as a library assistant
in 1889, she quickly accepted it.
The only library science training she received was
a one-sentence directive from Folwell, who handed her
an official appointment paper along with the key to
the library and said, “Open up the library in the morning,
Miss Ina, and remember that if anyone has to get mad
in the library, let it be the person on the other side
of the counter."
"With that rule and some common sense a girl could
make her way in a library those days,” Firkins told
a newspaper reporter in 1932, the year she retired.
And that's exactly what she did, becoming one of the
most scholarly librarians of her time, a well-known
bibliographer, and a “link between the old University
and the new,” as the University Senate described her
in a posthumous tribute.
During her 42-year career, the library increased its
collection from 25,000 volumes to half a million. No
other library staff member knew the collection as comprehensively
as Firkins did, so it's no surprise that the University
chose her to shepherd the construction of Walter Library
during a critical time of transition.
University Librarian William Gerould resigned in 1920
to take a similar position at Princeton University,
shortly after the board of regents approved the preparation
of plans for a new library.
Firkins was appointed Acting Librarian, a temporary
position she held until Frank Walter became University
Librarian in September 1921.
"Many felt that [Firkins] should have been appointed
chief librarian, but the traditions of a University
are hard to overcome,” wrote Gratia Countryman, head
of the Minneapolis Public Library from 1904 to 1936,
in a memorial tribute to her friend.
With her vast knowledge of the library, Firkins would
prove to be an invaluable administrator and a resource
for the librarian-elect. She supervised the construction
of Walter Library, planned its furnishings, organized
its staff, and coordinated the transfer of books from
the old library (Burton Hall) to the new building.
Over the years, she served thousands of students, many
of whom were a little afraid of her. Tall and dignified,
wearing a rather austere black dress with a white collar,
Firkins could stifle giggly socializing with her favorite
disciplinary device—a few sharp taps of a pencil
on her desktop.
Despite her stern professional demeanor, in her private
life Firkins was noted for her sparkling sense of humor,
spontaneity, and lively personality. She was active
in professional and cultural organizations and managed
a five-person household. She died while vacationing
on a cruise near Norway in 1937.
