Frances Jenkins Olcott

Frances Jenkins Olcott (1872 – 29 March 1963) was the first head librarian of the children's department of the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh in 1898.

[1] Her father, Franklin Olcott, born in America, but educated in Göttingen and Würzburg in Germany, worked in the American Consular Service.

Her grandmother's formal and dignified religious influence was present alongside her parents’ Bible readings and daily prayers.

[2][3] Her children's department was a laboratory where she and her staff tested methods, evolved standards, and worked out problems regarding reading engagement, content selection, and material organization.

[1] This program became a part of the Carnegie Institute of Technology and was eventually moved to the University of Pittsburgh as the Graduate School of Library and Information Sciences.