Charles Evans contributed to American book culture in two ways. As librarian at the Indianapolis Public Library from 1872 to 1878 and from 1889 to 1892, assistant librarian at the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore from 1884 to 1886, and librarian at the Chicago Historical Society from 1896 to 1901, he built, organized, and fostered the use of important collections. He was among the organizers of the American Library Association and served as its first treasurer. His bibliographic efforts were even more significant. From 1903 to 1934 he virtually single-handedly compiled, published, and even mailed the first twelve volumes of American Bibliography, a work that records the titles of all examples of printing in the United States from 1639 to 1820 and that Clarence Saunders Brigham of the American Antiquarian Society called "one of the greatest bibliographical compilations of all time." Nearly a century after its inception, this work remains the fundamental list of early American imprints.

The second...