 When Dewey opened his School of Library Economy at Columbia College to women it was rumored that he asked for their bust sizes with their applications.Though the rumor turned out to be false he did require a photograph from each female applicant since "you cannot polish a pumpkin".In 1905 during a 10-day trip to Alaska sponsored by the American Library Association (ALA), a group he co-founded, he made unwelcome advances on four prominent librarians who informed Association officials.