Finding aid for the Fern Long Papers

Biography of Fern Long

Fern Long (1905- ) was born in Cleveland, Ohio. She attended Lake Erie College from 1922 until 1923 and then completed her degree at Radcliffe College from which she graduated magna cum laude in 1926 with a B.A. in English literature. She earned a Ph.D. in Philosophy at Charles University in Prague, 1926-1930, and in 1940 received a B.S. in Library Science from Western Reserve University.

She taught in Prague, Czechoslovakia, at the English Grammer School and the Methodist Mission in 1930. Between November and March, 1931, she translated F. J. Vlchek's autobiography, The Story of My Life. She served as secretary in charge of Slovanic groups at New Haven International Institute, through 1931-1932, and as executive secretary of Amex Social Service League in Ames, Iowa, during 1934-1937.

She initially worked at the Cleveland Public Library in 1929 for one year in the area of foreign literature. She returned in 1937 working in a variety of areas including literature, the John G. White Collection, Philosophy, Religion and as a Reader's Advisor. In 1944 she became the Supervisor of the Adult Education Department serving until 1970. Dedicated to responsible library service for the elderly, she helped create the Live Long and Like It Club in 1946. During these years she was also very active in other organizations including, the Adult Education Association of the United States, the Adult Education Council of Greater Cleveland, the Committee of Aging, and United Auto Workers Retired Workers' Centers, Inc.

From January to September 1970, Long was Acting Director of the Cleveland Public Library. From September 1970 to January 1974, she was Deputy Director. Finally between January 1974 and December 31, 1975, she was Interim Director.

Fern Long is the author of several books including, All About Meetings: A Practical Guide. She also translated a number of Czech language books including, Late Harvest, If the Mirror Breaks, The Hideout, and Seven Time the Leading Men.

Long received many awards including, a Brotherhood Week Citation in 1950, Radcliffe Alumnae Award in 1960, Cleveland Women of Achievement Award in 1961, and Distinguished Daughter of Ohio Award in 1975.

On December 31, 1975, Dr. Fern Long retired as Deputy Director of the Cleveland Public Library. She later moved to Sarasota, Florida, where she served as secretary of the board of Selby (County) Library League, treasurer of the board of the Women's exchange of Sarasota and a member of the board of the Sarasota Institute for Lifetime Learning.

Scope and Content

The Fern Long Papers, 1937-1976, consist of congratulatory messages; correspondence; 1975 International Women's Year files; book reviews; speech texts; publications; and scrapbooks.

Generally, the materials relate to Long's involvement in four areas: library service to the community, old age, the Cleveland, Ohio Czech community, and the status of Cleveland women. In library service she worked to decrease adult illiteracy and promote programs for Spanish-speaking groups. She also created a library program for the elderly -- the Live Long and Like It Club. In order to make Clevelanders aware of the Czech cause, she worked with American Relief for Czechoslovakia and the Czech Educational Reconstruction Department during WWII by translating Czech books to English. Also, in support of the women's movement, she encouraged informal continuing education and participated in the 1975 International Women's Year activities in Cleveland.

Statement of Arrangement

Restrictions on Access

None

Indexing Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the library's online public access catalog.

Subjects:

Preferred Citation

[Container ___, Folder ___ ] MS 3973 Fern Long Papers, Western Reserve Historical Society, Cleveland, Ohio

Acquisition Information

Gift of Fern Long in 1979.

Processing Information

Processed by Eileen M. Reiling in 1985.

Detailed Description of The Collection