Dorothy Amann was born on February 20, 1874, in Ripley, Mississippi. She attended Thomas Arnold Academy in Salado, Texas, and trained as a businesswoman at Old Eastman Business College in Poughkeepsie, New York.
Hired as one of the first staff members of the newly formed Southern Methodist University, she traveled from Midland, Texas, to Dallas in October 1913 to serve as President R.S. Hyer's secretary. She became SMU's first librarian when the responsibility for the collection and disposition of books fell to her in 1915. Miss Amann's zeal for the job led her to study library science at Columbia University. Her contribution to the library field included presiding as President of the Texas Library Association (1921-22), President and founder of the Southwest Library Association (1938-40), and organizer and President of the Dallas Library Club.
Her devotion to SMU and library science was legendary. An oral history interview of Miss Amann captured the early days of SMU. Interested in every facet of the university, she organized and attended various organizations and events. To encourage the scholarship of young women, she founded Decima, the SMU Mortar Board Chapter, in 1932. The library, though, remained her highest priority, and the opening of the Fondren Library in 1940 marked the pinnacle of her career. Miss Amann retired as head librarian at SMU in 1949. She died on July 14, 1967.
The Dorothy Amann papers encompass her involvement in the organization and development of Southern Methodist University from its humble beginnings to the opening of the Fondren Library and beyond.
The collection contains early SMU historical information in the form of Miss Amann's letters, speeches, articles, and nostalgic ephemera. The letters include correspondence between Miss Amann and President Robert Hyer and President Umphrey Lee. Of special note are the diagram cuttings from a journal article published in 1941 heralding the opening of Fondren Library.
The collection is organized into one series.
This is one of the collections in the Archives of Women of the Southwest.
Collection is open for research use.
Permission to publish materials must be obtained from the Director of the DeGolyer Library.
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain copyright authorization.
This collection is indexed under the following terms in the Southern Methodist University Libraries' online catalog. Researchers desiring related materials may search the catalog using these terms.
Dorothy Amann papers, Southern Methodist University Archives, DeGolyer Library, Southern Methodist University.
Gift, June 28, 1991.
The finding aid was written by Pamalla Anderson, 2006.
Lara Corazalla, 2007.