Emma L. Frank Papers, 1983-1986
| Oberlin College Archives
Administrative/Biographical History
Emma Lucile Frank was born May 14, 1900 in Jamestown, New York to Susan Martyn Fox and Manley Clarence Frank. Both she and her brother, Gerald M. Frank, attended Oberlin College.
Emma Frank began her formal education and career at Oberlin College in 1924. During her time as a student, she worked as an assistant in the library. Upon graduating in 1927, Frank began working as Secretary to the Librarian. She held this position until 1931, when she became the Assistant in Charge of the Theological Library, part of the Graduate School of Theology at Oberlin College. This graduate program existed from 1833 to 1966, when it was transferred to the Vanderbilt University Divinity School in Nashville, Tennessee.
In the course of her career Frank obtained two additional degrees. She received a B.S. in Library Science from Case Western Reserve University in 1937, and an M.A. in Library Science from the University of Michigan in 1947. She retired in 1965 as Librarian of the Graduate School of Theology.
In 1976, Frank left Oberlin for Port Charlotte, Florida, but remained interested and involved in Oberlin intellectual life. She began a project to compile a list of books written by graduates of the Oberlin College Graduate School of Theology, which she finished in 1985 despite suffering from problems with her vision. Frank died on September 11, 1997 after a long illness.
Sources Consulted
Oberlin College Archives, RG 28 Alumni Records, Faculty, Staff Records.
Author: Haley Antell Administrative InformationThe Papers were given to the Archives by Marianne Turman in 1997. Accession number: 1997/129.
The Emma L. Frank Papers represent a very incomplete record of her life and work. This small collection is related only to her research on and compilation of publications written by graduates of the Oberlin Graduate School of Theology. Information pertaining to her personal life and her time at Oberlin College is absent from the collection.
The Papers comprise three copies of the booklet Frank wrote, titled “Books Written by Graduates of the Oberlin Graduate School of Theology, Classes 1920-1966: A Preliminary List Compiled by Emma L. Frank.” Also included is a typed copy of a bibliography Frank created while conducting research for the booklet. This annotated bibliography contains notes that provide additional information on the authors that is not included in the booklet.
Several articles and booklets written by or related to graduates of the Oberlin Graduate School of Theology can be found in the collection, including journal articles by Carroll E. Simcox and a booklet by Ralph Dessem. Additionally, there are two booklets published by the I.N. Thut World Education Center (TWEC), an agency of the University of Connecticut School of Education. Named in honor of Dr. Isaac N. Thut, TWEC was a non-profit curriculum development, research service, and teaching organization that was co-directed for many years by Oberlin Graduate School of Theology alumnus, Frank A. Stone. Contextual information that might indicate why these authors’ publications in particular are present in the collection is not available.
INVENTORY
Box 1
Articles by Carroll E. Simcox, collected by Emma L. Frank, 1984-85
Bibliography: typescript used for the booklet, circa 1985
“Books Written by Graduates of the Oberlin Graduate School of
Theology, Classes 1920-1966: A preliminary list
compiled by Emma L. Frank,” 1985
“Celebrating Advent in the Sanctuary,” by Ralph Dessem, 1983
“The I.N. Thut World Education Center,”
Fourteenth Annual Report, 1984-85
“Materials on Bilingual, Multicultural, International and
Global Education,” publications list, 1985-86