Helen E. Haines

Helen Elizabeth Haines (1872–1961) was a writer, reviewer, teacher and lecturer. She was instrumental in the development of the library science profession, though she herself never worked as a librarian or earned a professional degree. Helen Haines is best known within the library community as the author of Living with Books, which served as one of the leading texts on book selection and readers' advisory. In addition, Haines dedicated her career to combatting against literary censorship and promoting intellectual freedom as a hallmark of the library profession. Born in the late Victorian period as the eldest of five girls and educated privately, she worked in publishing after being turned down for a library job. As a protégée of Charles Cutter, she became the managing editor of Library Journal in 1896. She also served as an officer of the American Library Association. In 1906, however, her health broke down, and she eventually had to leave both positions and relocate to southern California. For her service to librarianship, Andrew Carnegie awarded her an annual pension.