When Melville / Melvil Dewey decided that a library school was needed to instill in future librarians his principles of organization, he inaugurated the first library school at Columbia University where he was head librarian. He decided to admit women to his library school, even though women were not at the time eligible for admission to Columbia. The trustees of the school objected and Dewey was reduced to finding classrooms outside of the university. His first library school class consisted of 20 students, 17 of whom were women.
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