View source for Richard Rogers Bowker

{{Short description|American publisher, editor, journalist (1848–1933)}}
[[Image:Bowker.jpg|thumb|alt=R. R. Bowker, Melvil Dewey, and Mrs. Dewey in Saratoga Springs, New York|Bowker, Mrs. Dewey, and [[Melvil Dewey]] in [[Saratoga Springs, New York]] in 1918]]
'''Richard Rogers "R. R." Bowker''' (September 4, 1848 – November 12, 1933) was a journalist, editor of ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' and ''[[Harper's Magazine]],'' and founder of the [[R. R. Bowker]] Company.<ref name="ALABulletin 1934" /><ref name="LibraryQuarterly 1934 Jan" />
==Early life and education==
Richard Rogers Bowker was born in [[Salem, Massachusetts]], on September 4, 1848, to a successful, educated family.
His paternal grandfather, Joel Bowker (1775–1858) rose from a grocery clerk to a leading merchant and part owner of sailing vessels.<ref name="Fleming" />  [[Bowker Place]] in [[Salem, Massachusetts|Salem]] is named after Joel Bowker.
His mother, Theresa Maria Bowker ''(née'' Savory; 1825–1906), was the daughter of Richard Savory (1781–1841), who owned a large [[Cooper (profession)|cooperage]] in Salem.<ref name="Fleming" />  His father, Daniel Rogers Bowker (1820–1895), was a partner in a prestigious business enterprise involving the sale of coal and salt in Salem until the [[Panic of 1857|financial panic in 1857]], coupled with the death of the leading partner in the business, caused the business to fail.<ref name="Fleming" />
The family moved to [[New York City]], where Bowker's father started a barrel-making business.<ref name="Fleming" /> The business never prospered, so the family never regained the affluence it had enjoyed. The plan for Bowker to attend [[Harvard University]] had to be scrapped. He attended the Free School in 1863 and entered the [[City College of New York]] in 1866.
At City College, he founded, edited, managed and published ''The Collegian'', one of the first college newspapers in the country. He was an organizer and member of the student senate. Bowker was instrumental in establishing a chapter of [[Phi Beta Kappa]] at the college, but was [[Blackballing|blackballed]] from membership by the school's president for his "radical" activities in student government and the student newspaper.<ref name="Danton" /> Years later the injustice was corrected. In 1868, he graduated with a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] in journalism.<ref name="Danton" />
In 1879, as a City College student, he was a leading member of the independent Republican Movement, also known as the "[[Mugwumps|Mugwump]]" movement in national politics. In 1880 the Mugwumps helped defeat the nomination of [[Ulysses Grant]] for a third term because of the scandals during his administrations.
In 1880,  he founded the Society for Political Education<ref name="NYTs 1880 Nov 9" /> to inform the public on social and political issues.<ref name="Fleming" /> He was a [[Republican Party (United States)|liberal Republican]] who played a leading role in enacting of civil service and municipal reforms in New York in the 1880s and in 1880 wrote the civil service reform plank that was adopted in the national Republican platform.<ref name="Fleming" />
==Career==
After graduation Bowker began his successful career in journalism at the newly established ''[[New York Evening Mail]]'' where he was city editor and literary editor from 1868 to 1874. From 1875 to 1878 he wrote a column for the ''[[New York Tribune]]'' and became manager of ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 1896. Between 1880 and 1882 he lived in London and managed the British edition of ''[[Harper's Magazine]]''.
In addition to journalism, he also became involved in publishing and [[book sales]]. He assisted in organizing the first American Book Trade Show and was hired by prestigious London and New York publishers as their representatives at various times.<ref name="Fleming" /> In 1872 Bowker and his friend and mentor, [[Frederick Leypoldt]], began publishing the ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' (then ''The Publishers' Weekly''), which became the most important book-trade journal in America. Bowker served as an owner and editor of the publication for 50 years.
In May 1876, Bowker, Leypoldt, and [[Melvil Dewey]] met in New York City to discuss the development of libraries. At the time the country had 3,647 libraries with 300 or more books.<ref name="Fleming" />
The number of books in these libraries totaled 12,276,964.<ref name="Fleming" /> The libraries operated on a [[Subscription library|subscription]] basis with no access to shelves and no children's sections. No uniform system for classifying books existed. Libraries were shifting from bound-volume catalogues to hand-written catalogue cards of varied sizes. At the meeting the three men agreed to establish a library profession, to publish a library journal and to organize a national library association.<ref>Bowker, R. R. (1926). “Seed Time and Harvest---the Story of the A.L.A.” ''Bulletin of the American Library Association.'' 20 (January): 303–9.</ref>
In September 1876, Leypoldt and Bowker published volume one of the ''[[Library Journal]].'' Melvil Dewey was the managing editor of the journal. They organized the [[American Library Association]] in October 1876.<ref>Weston, B. E. (1933). "Richard Rogers Bowker." ''Wilson Bulletin for Librarians.'' 8: 222–223.</ref>
The organization would be used as a model for many European countries. After a few years, Dewey left the publication for financial and personal reasons. Bowker remained the heart and soul of the publication for many years despite its lack of financial success. He not only wrote regular editorials, but also numerous essays on library history, organization and management for the publication.<ref>Bowker, R.R. (1901). "Libraries and the Century in America: Retrospect and Prospect." ''Library Journal'': 5-7.</ref><ref>Bowker, R.R. (1913). "The Work of Trustees in a Large Library." ''Library Journal'': 3-7.</ref><ref>Bowker, R.R. (1921). "The County Library System of California." ''Library Journal'': 835-837.</ref>
==Death and legacy==
In March 1884, Leypoldt died. Despite the fact that Leypoldt's bibliography project had been a time-consuming, financial loss, Bowker, a chairman of the Committee on Public Documents of the American Library Association,<ref>Bowker, R.R. (1898). "Report on Committee on Public Documents." ''Library Journal: 117-120.''</ref><ref>Bowker, R.R. (1899). "Report on Committee on Public Documents." ''Library Journal: 100-102.''</ref> took on the responsibility for the ''American Catalogue.''<ref name="AmericanCatalog 1900" /> an index of all books published in the United States. He added three new features: [[Federal government of the United States|United States government]] documents, publications of American literary, scientific and other societies, and state government publications. During the next fifteen years, he published a revised edition of the catalogue every five years.
Bowker was instrumental in efforts to have [[Herbert Putnam]] appointed [[Librarian of Congress]]. The magnificent record of the nation's foremost library during the following decades was in no small measure due to Putnam's admirable leadership, and Bowker could take just pride in the part he played in bringing this about," McClung Fleming wrote in 1952.<ref>Fleming, E. McClung. (1952). ''R. R. Bowker: Militant Liberal.'' University of Oklahoma Press (1952), p.193; OCLC 864963</ref>
More than once, he was asked to be president of the [[American Library Association]]. But he declined because he thought it would be inappropriate, since he was not a librarian. He was a member of the Association's Council from 1898-1902; 1907-1923 and 1929-1933. He regularly attended association conferences.<ref>Bowker, R.R. (1896). "The Library Journal" and Library Organizations: A Twenty-Year Retrospective." ''Library Journal:'' 5-9 and 52.</ref> He was recognized with [[American Library Association Honorary Membership]] in 1933, an award conferred on an individual whose contribution to librarianship is so outstanding that it is of lasting importance to the advancement of the whole field of library service.<ref>[https://www.ala.org/awardsgrants/honorary-membership Honorary Membership].American Library Association.</ref><ref name="Fleming" />
In 1885, Bowker helped organize and was the first president of the New York Library Club.<ref name="NYLibraryClub" /> He served as a trustee for the [[Brooklyn Public Library]] from its incorporation in 1902 until his death and gave most of his personal library to it. For 24 years, he served as president of the Stockbridge Library Association in [[Massachusetts]].<ref name="Danton" /> He donated ten thousand dollars to the [[Library of Congress]] for bibliographical services.<ref name="Fleming" /> It was written of Bowker that, "few in the library world had wider acquaintance, few had more lasting friendships, few were more generous in recognition of new talent, few more cherishing of old memories."<ref name="LibraryJournal" /> All of this and more earned Bowker a spot as one of the “100…most important leaders we had in the 20th century.”<ref name="Kniffel 1999" />
==Personal life==
On January 1, 1902, Bowker married Alice G. Mitchell (1864–1941) in [[Brookline, Massachusetts]]. Alice's mother, Zilpha Maria Mitchell ''(née'' Morton; 1834–1888) was a [[Cousin#First cousins|first cousin]] of [[Levi Parsons Morton]] (1824–1920),<ref name="ZilphaMitchell-VP-connection" group=lower-alpha /> [[List of Vice Presidents of the United States|22nd]] [[Vice President of the United States]] (1889–1893) and [[List of Governors of New York|31st]] [[Governor of New York]] (1895–1897).
== Selected works ==
* The arts of life<ref name="ArtsofLife 1900" />
Author: Bowker, R. R. 1848&ndash;1933.; Rogers, Bruce, Publication: Boston : Houghton, Mifflin and Co.; Cambridge : Riverside Press, 1900
* [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009586461 Of work and wealth; a summary of economics]
Author: Bowker, R. R. 1848&ndash;1933. Publication: New York, Society for Political Education, 1883
* The American catalogue<ref name="AmericanCatalogofBooks 1871" />
Author: Pylodet, L. ([[anagram]] for Leypoldt); Bowker, R. R. Publication: New York : P. Smith, 1941, 1881
* [https://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009792412 The College of the City of New York : 1847-1895] /
Author: Bowker, R. R. 1848&ndash;1933. Publication: New York? : s.n., 1895
* Copyright: its history and its law<ref name="Copyright-Bowker 1912" />
Author: Bowker, R. R. 1848&ndash;1933. Publication: Buffalo, N.Y. : W.S. Hein, 2002, 1912
== Notes==
{{reflist|group=lower-alpha|refs=
<ref name="ZilphaMitchell-VP-connection">Lendal Pitts Morton (1796–1843) was the father of Zilpha Maria Mitchell ''(née'' Morton; 1834–1888); Lendal's brother, Daniel Oliver Morton (1788–1852) was the father of [[Levi Parsons Morton]]<br /></ref>
}}
==References==
{{Reflist|30em|refs=
<ref name="Fleming">''R. R. Bowker: Militant Liberal,'' by E. McClung Fleming, [[University of Oklahoma Press]] (1952); {{oclc|864963}}</ref>
<ref name="Danton">"Richard Rogers Bowker," by [[Milton James Ferguson]], ''Pioneering Leaders in Librarianship,'' Emily Miller Danton (ed.), [[American Library Association]] (1953); {{oclc|18337375}}</ref>
<ref name="LibraryJournal">Library Journal (Firm). 1933. Richard Rogers Bowker, 1848-1933.</ref>
<ref name="Kniffel 1999">"100 of the Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century," [[Leonard Kniffel]] (ed.), [[Peggy Sullivan]] (contributing ed.), Edith McCormick (retired senior ed.), ''[[American Libraries]]'' ([[American Library Association]]), Vol. 30, No. 11, December 1999, pp. 38–46, 48 (retrieved July 7, 2016, via [[JSTOR]]; {{URL|https://www.jstor.org/stable/25637411}})</ref>
<ref name="ALABulletin 1934">"Richard Rogers Bowker," by Earnest Cushing Richardson, ''Bulletin'' ([[American Library Association]]), Vol. 28, No. 1, Part One, January 1934, pp. 33–34; {{oclc|5547055039}}; {{ISSN|0364-4049}}</ref>
<ref name="NYTs 1880 Nov 9">[https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1880/11/09/98638874.pdf "Society For Political Education,"] ''[[New York Times]],'' November 9, 1880 (retrieved March 29, 2016)</ref>
<ref name="AmericanCatalog 1900">[https://archive.org/details/americancatalog01applgoog "Preface,"] by R. R. Bowker, ''Annual American Catalog'', 1900, 1901, 1902, 1903, 1904 (retrieved March 29, 2016); {{oclc|643099059}}</ref>
<ref name="AmericanCatalogofBooks 1871">[https://archive.org/details/americancatalog02kellgoog American Catalog of Books],'' James Kelly (ed.), [[John Wiley & Sons]] (1871); {{oclc|53867773}}</ref>
<ref name="Copyright-Bowker 1912">[https://archive.org/details/copyrightitshis02bowkgoog Copyright: Its History And Its Law],'' by Richard Rogers Bowker, [[Houghton Mifflin Company]] (1912) (retrieved March 29, 2016); {{oclc|48123303}}</ref>
<ref name="NYLibraryClub">[https://nylibraryclub.org/ "New York Library Club, Inc., About Us,"] ({{URL|https://nylibraryclub.org/}})</ref>
<ref name="ArtsofLife 1900">''[https://archive.org/details/artsoflife00bowkuoft The Arts of Life],'' by Richard Rogers Bowker & [[Bruce Rogers (typographer)|Bruce Rogers]], [[Houghton, Mifflin and Co.]] (1900) (retrieved March 29, 2016); {{oclc|2403948}}</ref>
<ref name="LibraryQuarterly 1934 Jan">"Richard Rogers Bowker: September 4, 1848-November 12, 1933", ''[[The Library Quarterly]]'', Vol. 4, No. 1, January 1934, pp. 111–112 (retrieved July 7, 2016, via [[JSTOR]]; {{URL|https://www.jstor.org/stable/4302041}})</ref>
}}
'''Works cited'''
* {{Cite ANB|title=Bowker, R. R.|volume=3 |id=1602548}}
==Further reading==
*Bowker, R. R., Edward Atkinson, Daniel Rogers Bowker, Alice G. Mitchell Bowker, Caroline Theresa Bowker, Melvil Dewey, Abraham L. Earle, et al. 1856. Richard Rogers Bowker Papers.
*Library Journal (Firm). 1933. Richard Rogers Bowker, 1848–1933.
*Foster, William E. 1926. ''Five men of '76.'' Chicago: American Library Association. (Justin Winsor, W.F. Poole, C.A. Cutter, Melvil Dewey and R.R. Bowker).
==External links==
*[https://archives.nypl.org/mss/355 Richard Rogers Bowker papers] Manuscripts and Archives Division, The New York Public Library. 61 linear feet.
* {{Cite NIE|wstitle=Bowker, Richard Roger|year=1905 |short=x}}
* {{Cite Americana|wstitle=Bowker, Richard Rogers|year=1920 |short=x}}
* {{Gutenberg author | id=40052| name=Richard Rogers Bowker}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Richard Rogers Bowker}}
* {{Find a Grave|98916575}}
* {{LCAuth|n88002720|R. R. Bowker|42|}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bowker, Richard Rogers}}
[[Category:1848 births]]
[[Category:1933 deaths]]
[[Category:American magazine editors]]
[[Category:American Library Association people]]