"A Brilliant Mind": Margaret Egan and Social Epistemology

Margaret Egan (1905–59) taught at the Graduate Library School of the University of Chicago (1946–55) and at the School of Library Science at Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio (1955–59). With her colleague Jesse Shera, Egan wrote “Foundations of a Theory of Bibliography” for Library Quarterly in 1952; this article marked the fi rst appearance of the term “social epistemology.” After Egan’s death, Shera has often been credited for the idea of social epistemology. However, there is ample evidence to show that it was Egan who originated the concept—one that is commonly viewed as fundamental to the theoretical foundations of library and information science.