Harriett L. Steuernagel
A native of Jackson, Mississippi, Harriett Steuernagel received a bachelor’s degree in English from Washington University in 1932. She received her library science degree from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign in 1937. In her early years, Steuernagel pursued a career in ballet and danced at the St. Louis Municipal Opera; she was also one of the original Rockettes, which were based in St. Louis before moving to New York.
Steuernagel joined the staff of the Washington University School of Dentistry in 1946, heading the library until her retirement in 1981. In 1988 the dental school’s library was renamed the Harriett L. Steuernagel Library. Throughout her career Steuernagel held many committee appointments and offices in the Special Libraries Association, the Medical Library Association, and the American Association of Dental Schools. She headed the AADS committee on Standards for Dental School Libraries from 1967 to 1969. After her retirement, she served as a consultant in Dental Education and coordinated the steering committee of the dental school’s accreditation report. Steuernagel developed and directed the dental school’s career counseling program from 1983 to 1986 as a full-time volunteer. From 1986 until her death, she volunteered in the Technical Services and Archives and Rare Books sections of the Bernard Becker Medical Library.