librarian, b. Providence, R.I. He graduated from Brown Univ. (BA., 1900; M.A., 1902). He worked with Charles McCarthy (q.v.) in developing the Wisconsin Legislative Reference Library, and helped to establish similar services in Indiana and New York. Lester returned to Madison in 1913 as director of public service training for the Free Library Commission. From 1920 until his retirement in 1949 he was secretary of the Wisconsin Free Library Commission. He planned and coordinated effective library service for Wisconsin, and made surveys for British Columbia's Fraser Valley (Canada), New York, Texas, and for the Merchant Marine. He held offices in the American Library Association, the League of Library Commissioners, National Association of State Libraries, and American Library Institute. Who's Who in Amer., 25 (1948); Wis. Lib. Bull., 47 (1951); Madison Wis. State Journal, Dec. 9, 1951.

The Wisconsin Historical Society has manuscripts related to this topic. See the catalog description of the Clarence Brown Lester Papers for details.

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[Source: Dictionary of Wisconsin biography]