Isabella Hayes papers
Collection
0269-UA
Isabella Hayes was the librarian in charge of the Maryland Room of the McKeldin Library from 1958 to 1969. The papers consist of correspondence, photographs, and other records pertaining to the operation of the Maryland Room, as well as Hayes' professional and civic activities. Major topics include the Prince George's County League of Women Voters, the Maryland Room, and the Health and Welfare Council of the National Capitol Area.
This collection is open to the public and must be used in the Special Collections reading room. Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.
This collection contains restricted material, please check the series and folder listings for additional information.
Materials of a sensitive nature, such as those containing personally identifiable information, are restricted for 75 years or the life of the individual and may by screened and removed by special collections staff. Please speak with a staff member if you believe that materials have been unnecessarily removed.
Photocopies or digital surrogates may be provided in accordance with Special Collections and University Archives duplication policy.
Copyright resides with the creators of the documents or their heirs unless otherwise specified. It is the researcher's responsibility to secure permission to publish materials from the appropriate copyright holder.
Archival materials may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal and/or state right to privacy laws or other regulations. While we make a good faith effort to identify and remove such materials, some may be missed during our processing. If a researcher finds sensitive personal information in a collection, please bring it to the attention of the reading room staff.
17.00 Linear Feet
The Isabella Hayes papers cover the period from 1941 to 1971; the bulk of the materials date from 1949 to 1968. The collection consists of correspondence, reports, meeting materials, pamphlets, notes, publications, statistics, photographs, and memorabilia, all of which relate to Hayes's professional career and civic activities. Also included are materials documenting the Maryland and Rare Book Room in McKeldin Library at the University of Maryland. Major groups represented in the collection include the League of Women Voters, the Health and Welfare Council, the Maryland Library Association, National Library Week, and the Maryland Committee for the Day Care of Children.
Among the correspondents are Hervey G. Machen, Theodore R. McKeldin, Wilson H. Elkins, Dr. Irvin Kerlan, and J. Millard Tawes.
Isabella Mallory Hayes was born in Kewanee, Illinois, on March 27, 1908. She received her A.B. from Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois in 1930, where she majored in Latin. While attending Knox College, she worked in the Kewanee Public Library. In 1931, Hayes entered the University of Wisconsin Library School, earning her B.L.S. While at the University of Wisconsin, Hayes worked in the Legislative Reference Library of the Capital Building in Madison.
After graduation, Hayes pursued a career as a reference librarian. She served as Head of the Reference Department of the Roanoke, Virginia Public Library from 1931 to 1943. Hayes worked between 1941 and 1943 in Detroit but returned to Virginia in 1949, where she joined the reference staff of the Richmond public library. Later that year, Hayes and her family moved to Maryland, and she became Assistant Reference Librarian and Instructor in Library Science at the University of Maryland.
In 1958, Hayes became the head of the Maryland and Rare Book Room in McKeldin Library at the University of Maryland. She developed collections of materials documenting the state of Maryland and the University of Maryland. In addition to building the collections of published material, Hayes initiated the collection of archival and manuscript materials, acquiring the personal papers of Governor Theodore R. McKeldin, Senator Millard E. Tydings, Congressman Carlton R. Sickles, Adele Stamp (Dean of Women of the University of Maryland), and Geary Eppley (Dean of Men of the University of Maryland).
In addition to working as the head of the Maryland and Rare Book Room, Hayes was active with several professional and civic organizations. She was president of the League of Women Voters of Prince George's County; she contributed articles to magazines and newspapers and was a book review editor of the Maryland Magazine and editor of Library News. Other organizations in which Hayes was involved include the Maryland State Teachers Association; the Maryland Department of Social Services Advisory Committee; the Maryland Department of Health; the Potomac River Association; the Maryland Library Association; the Community Chest and Planning Council; the Scientists' Cliffs Association; and the Prince George's County Day Care Center for the Mentally Retarded. In her later years she was active in developing day care services for children and, in 1968, received the Community Service Award of the Health and Welfare Council of Prince George's County.
Hayes' husband, Harold Hayes, was Chief of Publications, Directorate of Education and Information, Department of Defense, until his retirement in 1967. They had a daughter, Anne, who graduate from the University of Maryland and became an airline stewardess.
Isabella Mallory Hayes died in July 1984 in St. Augustine, Florida.
This collection is divided into seven series.
Isabella Mallory Hayes donated her papers to the University of Maryland Libraries between 1969 and 1971.
Paperclips were removed and replaced, files were replaced in acid-free folders, and duplicates were discarded. The collection was divided into seven series and the loose materials were organized by like material. Photographs and memorabilia were separated and transferred to the photograph and memorabilia collections. All newspaper clippings were photocopied onto acid free paper when necessary and originals discarded. Hayes' original filing system and arrangement was preserved when apparent.
Part of the Special Collections and University Archives