Joseph "Jay" Allen Jr. (1905-1975) was a music librarian. Allen was born in Waltham, Massachusetts on May 18, 1905. The son of Joseph Allen Sr., a professor of mathematics from the City College of New York, and Annie Ware Winsor Allen, he grew up in New York.He received an A.B. and A.M degrees in music from Harvard University, in 1927 and 1929 respectively. As a student he sang in the Harvard Glee Club and was responsible for cataloguing the club's music collection. In 1930, he married Lucile Wright. Following this, Allen taught music at the Thomas School in Toawayton, CT; the Derby Academy in Hingham, MA; and at Queens College in Flushing, NY. In 1939 Allen recveived his bachelors in Library Science from Columbia University. Prior to joining the University of Illinois, Allen served as the music librarian at Queens Collegefrom 1940 to 1943 and was a founding member of the Steamship Historical Society of America in 1935.
Allen joined the faculty at the University of Illinois in 1943, officially opening the first music library in Smith Music Hall on February 16, 1944. Under his leadership, the Music and Performing Arts Library made significant increases to the circulating collections, expanding the library from 250 reserves to over 7,000 books, 66,000 scores, and nearly 4,500 phonographic discs. In 1951, he became the president of the Music Library Association. Allen played a significant role in acquiring the Rafael Joseffy Collection and the WGN Music Library, as well as many other smaller collections. During his time as a faculty member, Allen also directed the Community Arts Chorus. He retired from the university in 1960. Allen died on July 4, 1975 in Seal Harbor, Maine.
Sources:"UI Music Library Finishes 5, Years as Distinct Unit," Daily Illini (January 5, 1949), 6.
"Auditioning Opens for Operetta Solos," The Daily Illini (September 19, 1957), 2.
University of Illinois Library, Staff Bulletin (June 1950).
"Allen Gets Nomination," Daily Illini (October 16, 1951), 1.
"Joseph Allen (sr.)" Obituary, The Standard Times (New Bedford, MA) (March 6, 1946), 2.
"19 Named to Faculty of Queens College; All But Two of New Members to Begin Duties Feb. 13," New York Times (January 30, 1940), 23.
Jillian Fulda, "Founders of the steamship Historical Society of America," (2011), online at: https://shiphistory.org/
Subjects (links to similar materials)
Submit request (Aeon)
Email us about these papers
Print this information