Bessie Boehm Moore

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Bessie Grace Boehm Moore (August 2, 1902 – October 24, 1995) was an American educator from Arkansas who fought to improve funding and support for libraries. She spent 38 years on the Arkansas Library Commission and was later named one of the 100 Most Important Leaders of the 20th Century by American Libraries in 1999.

She was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, and grew up near Mountain View, Arkansas. Her mother died when she was 17, and her father raised her at an aunt’s house. At 14 she earned a teaching certificate and began teaching in St. James, Arkansas. During World War I, a sign on the school door warned against German teachers, but she removed the sign and started teaching anyway.

Moore earned a Bachelor of Arts in education from Arkansas State Teachers College in 1942. She became a respected figure in education, and officials often invited her to speak. At 24 she served on the National Committee for the Sesquicentennial Celebration of the United States. In 1934 she was appointed Supervisor of Nursery Schools, and from 1939 to 1944 she was Supervisor for Elementary Education of Arkansas.

In 1962 she became Executive Director of the Arkansas State Council on Economic Education, a role she held until 1979. In 1963 she chaired the Ozark Folk Center Commission in Mountain View, Arkansas. In 1965 President Lyndon B. Johnson named her to the National Advisory Commission on Libraries. From 1972 to 1988 she served on the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science, attaining the position of Vice Chairman Emeritus.

Moore also lectured at many universities starting in 1974, including the University of Michigan, the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, Florida State University, the University of Arizona, and the University of South Florida. She was an honorary member of the University of Michigan Library School Alumni Association and received American Library Association Honorary Membership in 1980.

Beyond education and libraries, she held three other notable roles: she was one of the first County Supervisors for Jefferson County, Arkansas; she and her husband ran a small cafeteria until his death in 1958; and she served on the board of directors of the First National Bank of Little Rock from 1971 to 1979.

Moore died on October 24, 1995. Her work left a lasting impact on libraries in Arkansas and beyond, and in 1999 she was named one of the 100 Most Important Leaders We Had in the 20th Century by American Libraries. Several organizations and awards are named in her honor.