#10: Samuel George Harbaugh, 1862-1874

Samuel G. Harbaugh was sixty years old when he was appointed State Librarian. His career included time as a merchant and then superintendent of a Lutheran Sunday school. In the Annual Report of the Commissioners of the Ohio State Library for 1862, State Library Commissioners Governor David Tod, Secretary of State W. S. Kennon, and Harbaugh complained of a lack of space and described government documents loosely laid on top of cases because the shelves were overcrowded. As a result, the library was appropriated $200 for additional shelving. In 1862, Harbaugh reported 25,400 volumes in the general and law library collections of the State Library. By 1870, there were 34,230. After a $12,000 appropriation for 1873, the library was expanded with alcoves and shelving. Harbaugh continued the work of his predecessor, creating a catalogue of all of the bound volumes with their proper classification and placement in the alcoves. As his age progressed and his health declined, he appointed his daughter Mary as Assistant Librarian. She held that position from 1869 to 1886. Until this time, women were not common in the library field and Mary was one of the first female librarians in Ohio.