newspaperman, librarian, educator, b. Norwalk, Ohio. He moved to Wisconsin with his parents in 1854, settling in Walworth County. He attended Wayland Academy (1867-1871) and Beloit College (1871-1873), and from 1884 to 1891 was editor of the Beaver Dam Argus. He was an organizer of the Beaver Dam Free Library Association (1884), and was its secretary (1884-1895). From 1891 to 1895 he was township library clerk in the office of the state superintendent of public instruction. He was an organizer, first secretary (1891-1894), and president (1894-1897) of the Wisconsin Library Association. Hutchins helped draft the bill creating the Free Library Commission of Wisconsin, and was chairman (1895-1897) and executive secretary (1897-1904) of this commission. One of the pioneers in the free library movement in Wisconsin, Hutchins was also instrumental in creating a Wisconsin summer school of library science, a system of traveling libraries, and the Legislative Reference Library. From 1906 to 1907 he was field organizer for the Univ. of Wisconsin extension division, and from 1907 until his death headed the extension division's department of debating and public discussion. In this capacity he originated the "package library," packages of clippings and information on items of current interest which could be borrowed from the extension division for use in discussion and debate. In addition to his extension work, Hutchins was also active in the Wisconsin Anti-Tuberculosis Association and in the state park and conservation movement. E. A. Fitzpatrick, McCarthy of Wis. (New York, 1944); Wis. Mag. Hist., 16; Who's Who in Amer., 2 (1901); F. M. Rosentreter, Boundaries of the Campus (Madison, 1957); Madison Wis. State Journal, Jan. 26, 1914.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Frank Avery Hutchins Papers for details.

View a related article at Wisconsin Magazine of History Archives.

View newspaper clippings at Wisconsin Local History and Biography Articles.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]