Retirement
Herbert Putnam’s administration as Librarian of Congress lasted for forty years, from 1899 until 1939. It was clear Putnam was not willing to withdraw completely from the world of librarianship, stating “I would willingly surrender the administration, if that course would serve the interest of the library and I could feel assured as to my successor.” Putnam provided the suggestion of “Librarian Emeritus” be developed as his new official title, with an honorarium of one-half of his original salary. On October 1, 1939, Putnam retired as the 8th Librarian of Congress with that title, and he “continued to contribute to the Library, keeping regular office hours for the next 15 years.”
Herbert Putnam was succeeded in 1939 by Archibald MacLeish, who served from 1939 until 1944.
Read more about this topic: Herbert Putnam
Famous quotes containing the word retirement:
“Convent. A place of retirement for women who wish for leisure to meditate upon the sin of idleness.”
—Ambrose Bierce (1842–1914)
“He who comes into Assemblies only to gratifie his Curiosity, and not to make a Figure, enjoys the Pleasures of Retirement in a[n] ...exquisite Degree.”
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)
“The student who secures his coveted leisure and retirement by systematically shirking any labor necessary to man obtains but an ignoble and unprofitable leisure, defrauding himself of the experience which alone can make leisure fruitful.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)