Shirley Murphy
Though she was born in North Haven in 1911, Shirley Holabird Murphy was a Branford resident for sixty years. Always a leader, she was the first female vice-president of a class (1929) at New Haven High School (Hillhouse). There, besides playing on the basketball and volleyball teams, she sang with the Senior Chorus and was a member of the School Circle, Monitor Squad, and German Club, in addition to working part-time at the New Haven Public Library. After high school, she attended Gateway School and took courses at Southern Connecticut State University. Through the first few years of her marriage to Alexander Murphy, she worked full-time at Yale's Sterling Library.
After time out for child-rearing (two sons and two daughters: Primula, Dana, Duncan, and Heather), Shirley returned to college. Upon graduating from New Haven State Teachers College in 1954, she taught second grade, for one year at the Short Beach School and then at Pine Orchard School, where she remained for three years. There, she served as acting principal as well as second-grade teacher from 1957 to 1958.
In 1958 when the new high school was built on East Main Street, the school system called upon Shirley's experience from earlier years and appointed her librarian, a position she held until her retirement in 1977. She began with a small room on the second floor that also served as an instructional area. Her overriding concern was to ensure the best educational opportunities and resources for Branford's young people. Driven by her vision, within four years the library was moved into the former cafeteria, an area more than six times the size of the original space. She also recognized that any potential resource could be a frozen asset if not properly used, and she strove to prevent that from happening by making the library a meaningful resource to students and faculty alike. In addition, she worked with teachers to see that the resources they needed for their specific courses would be available.
The new library was stocked with thousands of books that Shirley selected with the help of the faculty. In addition, the extensive periodicals room was developed and served as the repository of hundreds of periodicals collected from the 1950s to 1999. Shirley Murphy also began an audiovisual collection as well; and today the collection she began in 1960 has grown into one of the most impressive high-school media collections in the area. Her further acquisition of the necessary equipment was the forerunner of the current extensive media department.
Working with Carol Moss, another BHS librarian who joined her in the 1960s, Shirley Murphy helped bring the BHS library to a position of respect among area schools. Shirley's ability to expand the library services from a small one-room operation in 1958 to a leading library in the Greater New Haven area is a story of persistence and professional vision. Her ability to muster support for Branford High School's library from within the school and in the Branford community was a major reason for BHS rising to educational prominence among New Haven County high schools.
The leadership Shirley had shown in high school and the vision she had shown in her professional life remained central to her personality. She was active in PTA and served a term as president. Among her other accomplishments, she was a moving force, together with Hall of Fame classmate Barbara Seavey, in founding the Branford Education Association. A local unit affiliated with the Connecticut Education Association and the National Education Association, the BEA represents the interests of teachers and education. After her retirement, she resided at Killam's Point until her death in 1996.
After time out for child-rearing (two sons and two daughters: Primula, Dana, Duncan, and Heather), Shirley returned to college. Upon graduating from New Haven State Teachers College in 1954, she taught second grade, for one year at the Short Beach School and then at Pine Orchard School, where she remained for three years. There, she served as acting principal as well as second-grade teacher from 1957 to 1958.
In 1958 when the new high school was built on East Main Street, the school system called upon Shirley's experience from earlier years and appointed her librarian, a position she held until her retirement in 1977. She began with a small room on the second floor that also served as an instructional area. Her overriding concern was to ensure the best educational opportunities and resources for Branford's young people. Driven by her vision, within four years the library was moved into the former cafeteria, an area more than six times the size of the original space. She also recognized that any potential resource could be a frozen asset if not properly used, and she strove to prevent that from happening by making the library a meaningful resource to students and faculty alike. In addition, she worked with teachers to see that the resources they needed for their specific courses would be available.
The new library was stocked with thousands of books that Shirley selected with the help of the faculty. In addition, the extensive periodicals room was developed and served as the repository of hundreds of periodicals collected from the 1950s to 1999. Shirley Murphy also began an audiovisual collection as well; and today the collection she began in 1960 has grown into one of the most impressive high-school media collections in the area. Her further acquisition of the necessary equipment was the forerunner of the current extensive media department.
Working with Carol Moss, another BHS librarian who joined her in the 1960s, Shirley Murphy helped bring the BHS library to a position of respect among area schools. Shirley's ability to expand the library services from a small one-room operation in 1958 to a leading library in the Greater New Haven area is a story of persistence and professional vision. Her ability to muster support for Branford High School's library from within the school and in the Branford community was a major reason for BHS rising to educational prominence among New Haven County high schools.
The leadership Shirley had shown in high school and the vision she had shown in her professional life remained central to her personality. She was active in PTA and served a term as president. Among her other accomplishments, she was a moving force, together with Hall of Fame classmate Barbara Seavey, in founding the Branford Education Association. A local unit affiliated with the Connecticut Education Association and the National Education Association, the BEA represents the interests of teachers and education. After her retirement, she resided at Killam's Point until her death in 1996.