Edwin Castagna (May 1, 1909 – November 26, 1983) was a prominent librarian and leader in the profession. Castagna was born in Petaluma, California, to Frank and Eugenia Burgle Castagna. He graduated from the library school at the University of California, Berkeley in 1936 and started his career as an assistant librarian in the Alameda County Public Library in Oakland, California. He left that position within a year to become the library director for the Ukiah, California Public Library.
Edwin Castagna | |
|---|---|
 | |
| President of the American Library Association | |
| In office 1964–1965 | |
| Preceded by | Frederick H. Wagman |
| Succeeded by | Robert Vosper |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 1, 1909 |
| Died | November 26, 1983 (aged 74) |
| Cause of death | Suicide |
| University of California, Berkeley | |
| Occupation | Librarian |
Career
editIn 1940 he became Director of the Washoe County Public Library in Reno, Nevada, where he became the first president of the Nevada Library Association[1]
Castagna took a leave of absence to join the U.S. Army to serve in World War II. He assumed command of one of the 771st Tank Battalions deployed to Europe and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal and Purple Heart.[2]
After the war, Castagna returned to Washoe County to continue his work as their library director.
In 1949 Castagna became the director the Glendale, California Public Library and then was appointed director position at the Long Beach Public Library.
While in Long Beach, Castagna served as president of the California Library Association in 1954.[3]
In 1960, Castagna was offered the position of director of the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland. During his tenure, the Pratt Library took responsibility for the Peabody Institute Library and helped to establish a library school at the University of Maryland.
During his time in Baltimore, Castagna served as president of the American Library Association from 1964 to 1965.[4][5] He retired from the Pratt Library in 1975.[6][7]
Death and legacy
editOn November 26, 1983, Castagna and his wife Rachel Dent Castagna took their own lives by taking sleeping pills after Edwin Castagna received a terminal health diagnosis.[8] Their estates were split between bequests to the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the library school at the University of California, Berkeley.[9][10]
Selected publications
edit- Castagna, Edwin (1982). Caught in the Act: The Decisive Reading of Some Notable Men and Women and Its Influence on Their Actions and Attitudes. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 0810815664.
- Castagna, Edwin (1971). "Censorship, Intellectual Freedom, and Libraries". In Voigt, Melvin J. (ed.). Advances in Librarianship. Vol. 2. New York: Seminar Press. pp. 215–251.
- Long, warm friendship: H.L. Mencken and the Enoch Pratt Free Library (Peacock Press, 1966)
- National inventory of library needs (American Library Association, 1965)
- Coplan, Kate; Castagna, Edwin, eds. (1965). The Library Reaches Out: Reports on Library Service and Community Relations by Some Leading American Librarians. Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: Oceana Publications.
- Castagna, Edwin (1965). "Climate of intellectual freedom". ALA Bulletin. 59: 27–33.
- Castagna, Edwin (1946). The History of the 771st Tank Battalion. Berkeley, Calif.: Lederer, Street & Zeus. LCCN 46026757. OCLC 5737075.
References
edit- ↑ .Hulse, James W. (2003). Oases of Culture: A History of Public and Academic Libraries in Nevada. Reno, Nevada: University of Nevada Press. ISBN 0874175445.
- ↑ "ALA president elect". Wilson Library Bulletin. 38: 9. 1963.
- ↑ "Edwin Castagna Collection, 1909-1982". Online Archive of California. California State Library. Retrieved April 12, 2026.
- ↑ "New Officers and Council Members". ALA Bulletin. 57 (8): 760. September 1963 – via JSTOR.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link) - ↑ "ALA's Past Presidents". American Library Association. 20 November 2007. Retrieved 5 March 2016.
- ↑ Nix, Larry T. (May 1, 2009). "Happy 100th Edwin Castagna!". Library History Buff. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- ↑ Castagna, Edwin (1974). "Edwin Castagna, director of the Enoch Pratt free library since 1960, will retire on June 30, 1974". Wilson Library Bulletin. 48: 707.
- ↑ "People". Library Journal. 109 (2): 135. February 1, 1984. ISSN 0363-0277. Retrieved 10 February 2020.
- ↑ Powell, Lawrence Clark (1984). Remembering Ed Castagna. Van Nuys, California: Richard J. Hoffman.
- ↑ Maggio, Theresa Griffin; Blazek, Ronald (1981). Supplement to the Dictionary of American Library Biography, Volume 1. Scribner. pp. 15–19. ISBN 068417152X.