Irene Melgaard Hauser Papers on the WPA Minneapolis Newspaper Indexing Project

In 1938, the Minneapolis Public Library began a WPA project to index the Minneapolis Journal from 1899 to 1914. The project was led by former library director Gratia Countryman and Irene Hauser was her assistant. In 1942, WPA staff switched over to indexing the Star Journal during the World War II years. The indexing done through this project (and a later one based on the standards and procedures as the manual prescribed) has been an invaluable resource for researchers of the history of Minneapolis, its residents, companies and events. The index remains in card format.

Irene Melgaard Hauser was born in Argyle, Minnesota in 1896. She was an English major at Carleton College and graduated magna cum laude in 1918. She was the first female editor of the student newspaper, the Carletonian. Hauser received her graduate degree from the Los Angeles Library School, now University of Southern California. Irene Melgaard married Walter U. Hauser in 1925. They had met in 1918 and corresponded while Irene was in California. Irene's father had a long illness that delayed their marriage until 1925. Walter Hauser was a lawyer and community leader.

Irene worked for the Minneapolis Public Library from 1920 to the birth of her first child, Susan, in 1926. Hauser worked in the reference and catalog departments. By 1932, the family finances were in such dire straits because of the Depression that Irene returned to the library.

In 1938, began her work on the newspaper index. It was one of the most interesting times of Hauser's life. The workers were unemployed stockbrokers, teachers, lawyers and artists. The Hausers invited members of the WPA project without families to their dinner table for holidays. Hauser worked on the project until 1942.

After the WPA project, Hauser continued her library work as a volunteer for Plymouth Congregational Church. She brought together the book collection in one space and cataloged it. The library was later a significant part of the church. Hauser died February 17, 1990.