Sheila A. Egoff

Sheila A. Egoff was born in Auburn, Maine but moved to Galt, Ontario with her family after the death of her father in 1919. After graduating from the University of Toronto’s Library School, Egoff was a librarian at the Galt Public Library until 1942 when she moved to the Toronto Public Library. When the School of Librarianship was established at the University of British Columbia in 1962, she became one of its founding faculty members, teaching courses in Children’s Literature and Librarianship until her retirement in 1983.

Her love of children’s literature is evident in the many books she has published on the subject. She has received numerous awards including the Robert Shaw award for Excellence in Library Literature, the Alumni Jubilee Award of the University of Toronto Faculty of Library Science Alumni Association, the Eliot Landau Award and the Claude Aubry Award for Distinguished Contribution to Children’s Literature.

Egoff was awarded a Doctor of Laws from the University of Alberta and a Doctor of Letters from the University of New Brunswick. In 1994, based on her outstanding work in education and dedication to Canadian children’s literature, Sheila was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada.