Virginia Cleaver Bacon

Virginia Cleaver Bacon was born on February 1, 1883,[1] in Halsey, Oregon, the daughter of Alonzo and Laura Cleaver.[2] Her sister was the author Kay Cleaver Strahan.[3]

She graduated from Portland High School and obtained an A. B. at University of Oregon.[4] In 1914 she graduated from the Riverside School of Library Service in California and in 1924 she obtained an A. M. at American University.[5][2]

She was prominent in library work in California, Missouri and Washington, D.C.[4]

She was advisor in Adult Education at the Portland Public Library and established the first department of its kind on the Pacific Coast and made the work so outstanding that it was quickly adopted elsewhere.[4] She later became Oregon State Librarian in 1929.[1][2]

In 1905 she was assistant for English Literature at University of Oregon. From 1915 to 1921 she was librarian at Humboldt State Teacher's College of California. In 1921 she was librarian at Park College, Missouri. She was assistant director of the Junior Division at the United States Employment Service, in Washington, D. C.. Since 1925 she was a member of Portland Library staff.[2] She wrote short stories, poems and articles for the most prominent national magazines.[4]

She was the author of "Every Day English".[2] In 1925 she co-authored Vocational guidance and junior placement: twelve cities in the United States.[6] In 1928 she published Good English.[7] Good English was a booklet for the Reading with a Purpose series of the American Library Association. Specialists were called on to write the 45 booklets in the series and of that number only two were written by women and only four by librarians.[5]

She was a member of the Phi Beta Kappa, American Association of University Women, Professional Women's League, American Library Association, American Association for Adult Education.[2]

Virginia Cleaver Bacon lived in California and Washington, D. C., and lastly moved to 1084 Wilson St., Portland, Oregon. She married Ralph Bacon.[2]

She died on April 11, 1930, in Portland.[1][4]