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John T. Dizer papers, 1853-2007, Date acquired: 00/00/2007

 

Summary

Creator:
Dizer, John T. (1921-2017)
Extent:
20.25 Linear Feet
40 boxes
Language:
English
Preferred citation:

John T. Dizer papers, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.

Background

Scope and content:

The collection consists of Dr. Dizer's correspondence and research files relating to nineteenth- and twentieth-century American popular children's literature, with particular emphasis on series books, story papers, and dime novels.  Notable are extensive files dealing with Edward Stratemeyer, the Stratemeyer Syndicate, and the Boy Scouts of America.

Biographical / historical:

John Thomas "Jack" Dizer Jr. served in the U. S. Navy during World War II, commanding an LCT (Landing Craft Tank) in the Pacific. Following the war, Dizer trained as an engineer and received his Ph.D. from Purdue University. After a professional career in industry he joined the engineering faculty of Mohawk Valley Community College (MVCC) in 1959, where he served as a Professor, Head of the Mechanical Engineering Technology Department, and Dean of the Technology and Business Division. He retired from MVCC in 1985 with the title Professor and Dean Emeritus. He was a Consulting Registered Certified Professional Engineer and a Life Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Dizer's favorite childhood reading materials included stories about fictional boy inventor Tom Swift. The Tom Swift books influenced him significantly in deciding to pursue an engineering career. This experience gave him an appreciation for the importance of childhood reading in shaping adult lives. Dr. Dizer actively collected and studied children's literature for over 40 years, gaining recognition as a leading authority on American popular children's fiction. The works of Tom Swift's creator Edward Stratemeyer (1862-1930) and the Stratemeyer Syndicate were Dizer's principal areas of study. He lectured extensively on American children's literature and authored four books and more than 70 articles on diverse aspects of boys' and girls' popular fiction.

Sources: "All Inductees, 1996-2004, to be Honored on New Hall of Fame Wall." Communitas: MVCC Faculty/Staff Newsletter. 10/4/2004, pp. 1, 3. Hartman, Krista. "Mohawk Valley Community College Authors: Faculty and Staff: A Bibliography." [Utica: Mohawk Valley Community College, 2007]. "MVCC Dean/Professor Emeritus Authors Book on Children's Literature." Communitas: MVCC Faculty/Staff Newsletter. 3/13/2006, p. 1. "MVCC 60th Anniversary Snapshots, MVCC 1946-2006." Communitas: MVCC Faculty/Staff Newsletter. 11/20/2006, p. 1.

Note written by PEC, 2007

Acquisition information:

John T. Dizer

Donation.

Arrangement:

Primarily alphabetical; original order maintained where discernable.

Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Access and use

Terms of access:

None. The contents of the collection may be subject to copyright.  Visit the United States Copyright Office's website at http://www.copyright.gov/ for more information.

Preferred citation:

John T. Dizer papers, USF Libraries - Tampa Special Collections, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL.