b. Oct. 22, 1900, Montreal, QC; d. 25 April, 1960, Winnipeg, MB

Elizabeth Dafoe, c. 1948. Credit Canadian Library Association

BA 1923 (University of Manitoba)
library training at New York Public Library and University of Chicago Graduate Library School

1925-1932 Circulation and Reference Assistant, University of Manitoba Library
1935-1937 Chief Librarian, Junior Division, University of Manitoba Library
1937-1960 Chief Librarian, University of Manitoba Library

Dafoe, Elizabeth (1944). “A National Library.” Food for Thought 4, no. 8: 4–8.
Dafoe, Elizabeth (1945). “Regional Library Service.” Queen’s Quarterly 52, no. 2: 195–205.
Dafoe, Elizabeth (1946). “Your Next Job–Librarian [C.B.C. Broadcast., September 4th, 1945].” Canadian Library Council Bulletin 2, no. 5: 106–7.
Dafoe, Elizabeth (1947). “The First Year: The Canadian Library Association Reports.” Food for Thought 8, no. 2: 9–10, 27.
Dafoe, Elizabeth (1948). “Librarianship as a Career.” Ontario Library Review 32, no. 3: 199–200.
Dafoe, Elizabeth, Freda F. Waldon, and Colin Gibson (1948). “A National Library for Canada.” Canadian Library Association Bulletin 5, no. 1: 14–16.
Dafoe, Elizabeth (1948). “What Is a Librarian?” Ontario Library Review 32, no. 1: 19–22.
Dafoe, Elizabeth, Freda F. Waldon, and Colin Gibson. “A National Library for Canada.” Canadian Library Association Bulletin 5, no. 1 (July 1948): 14–16.
Dafoe, Elizabeth (1949). “National Library Service.” Canadian Library Association Bulletin 6, no. 2: 54–57.
Dafoe, Elizabeth, ed. (1955). Future of bibliography and documentation. By Elizabeth Dafoe and others. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association. (Canadian Library Association. Occasional paper; no. 7)
Dafoe, Elizabeth (1955). “Research Libraries.” Canadian Library Association Bulletin 11, no. 6: 319–20.
Dafoe, Elizabeth (1958). “The Library and the Community.” In Proceedings of the Canadian Library Association 13th Annual Meeting, Quebec City, June 13–19, 1958, pp. 7–13. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association.
Dafoe, Elizabeth (1959). “A University Library [Manitoba].” Journal of the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada 36, no. 4: 106.

1943-46 President, Manitoba Library Association
1948-49 President, Canadian Library Association
1949-1954 member, American Library Association Council

Elizabeth Dafoe Library of the University of Manitoba named in her honour.

For a quarter of century, Elizabeth Dafoe was a central figure in the development of the University of Manitoba library in Winnipeg. Her efforts were noteworthy and resulted in her selection to represent western Canadian and academic interests in the wartime Canadian Library Council which led to the successful formation of the Canadian Library Association in 1946. Dafoe's interests included the formation of regional libraries, a topic she promoted in wartime publications, as well the creation of a National Library in Ottawa. From 1953-1960 she was a member of the National Library Advisory Council.

“It is our hope for Canadian libraries that they will eventually form part of a nation-wide system. It is my hope that as they develop it will be possible for them to lay less stress on information and more on knowledge, less emphasis on the book of the month and more on the book of the decade, less accentuation on momentary interests and fads and more upon infinite concerns and problems.” — Elizabeth Dafoe, Canadian Library Association conference, 1949.

“Her tireless message of the need for a 'national library' and her outspoken ideas helped to define the mandate of the National Library of Canada”. [extract from her biography on Library and Archives Canada. Celebrating Women's Achievements].

“Miss Elizabeth Dafoe” Manitoba Library Association Bulletin 8 / 2 & 3 (Sept. 1960), 1.
W.L. Morton (1963) “Elizabeth Dafoe: lover of language, literature and libraries.” Proceedings of the Canadian Library Association, 18th Conference: 8–9.
Manitoba Historical Society. Memorable Manitobans: Julia Annette Elizabeth Dafoe (1900-1960). [accessed Feb. 14, 2016]
“Elizabeth Dafoe,” Canadian Library 17 (Nov. 1960): 171.
“Miss Elizabeth Dafoe, University Librarian, dies.” Winnipeg Free Press,“ April 26,1960