Editing Melvil Dewey (section)

=== Sexual harassment ===
Another biography refers to Dewey's "old nemesis—a persistent inability to control himself around women" as a chronic cause of trouble on the job.<ref>Wiegand, pp. 353–5ff.</ref> For decades, Dewey refused to stop his  "unwelcome hugging, unwelcome touching, certainly unwelcome kissing" with female subordinates and others, according to biographer [[Wayne A. Wiegand]].<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Ford|first=Anne|date=June 2018|title=Bringing Harassment Out of the History Books|url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/06/01/melvil-dewey-bringing-harassment-out-of-the-history-books/|magazine=American Libraries|publisher=American Library Association|access-date=June 27, 2018}}</ref> When Dewey opened his School of Library Economy at Columbia College to women, he asked for a photograph from each female applicant since "you cannot polish a pumpkin".<ref name=":0">Kendall, Joshua. "[http://www.americanlibrariesmagazine.org/article/melvil-dewey-compulsive-innovator Melvil Dewey: Compulsive Innovator]". ''American Libraries Magazine'', 2014.</ref>

In 1905, during a 10-day trip to Alaska sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), a group he co-founded, he made unwelcome advances toward four prominent librarians (including [[Adelaide Hasse]]) who informed Association officials. As a result, Dewey was forced to step down from active participation in the ALA as several of his colleagues added their voices to a campaign.<ref name=":1" />  After 1906, Dewey was no longer an active ALA member, but he was still invited to be the guest of honor at ALA's 50th anniversary meeting in 1926.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=2018-06-01|title=Bringing Harassment Out of the History Books|url=https://americanlibrariesmagazine.org/2018/06/01/melvil-dewey-bringing-harassment-out-of-the-history-books/|access-date=2020-11-27|website=American Libraries Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> Reports, allegations, and an investigation of Dewey's inappropriate and offensive behavior directed at women continued for decades after his departure from the ALA.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Apostles of culture : the public librarian and American society, 1876–1920|last=Garrison|first=Dee|date=2003|publisher=University of Wisconsin Press|isbn=9780299181147|location=Madison|pages=280|oclc=50285121}}</ref><ref name=":3">{{Cite news|url=https://www.history.com/news/the-father-of-modern-libraries-was-a-serial-sexual-harasser|title=The Father of Modern Libraries Was a Serial Sexual Harasser|work=HISTORY.com|access-date=January 8, 2018}}</ref><ref name=":0" /> His prominent opponents on the grounds of sexual misbehavior included [[Tessa Kelso]]. <blockquote>"In exchange for a quiet departure, he was spared an ugly and public expose of one of his major flaws", [[Wayne A. Wiegand|Wiegand]] writes. "He was never again a power player in ALA politics."<ref name=":3" /></blockquote>

In 1929, Dewey settled out of court for $2,147 {{USDCY|2147|1929}} for a lawsuit brought by a former stenographer, whom he had kissed and caressed in public the previous summer.<ref name=":2" /> <blockquote>In general, Dewey himself did not deny his actions—only their impropriety. "I have been very unconventional ... as men [are] always who frankly show and speak of their liking for women," he wrote. But, he insisted, it was not his fault if the targets of his "unconventional" actions took offense: "Pure women would understand my ways."<ref name=":1" /></blockquote>