Timeline of women in library science

This is a timeline of women in library science throughout the world.

1796: Cecilia Cleve became the first female librarian in Sweden.[1]

1852: The first female clerk was hired for the Boston Public Library.[2]

1858: The first female library clerk was appointed to the Smithsonian Institution in 1858, and was also the Smithsonian's first female employee.[3]

1880: Mary Foy became the first woman head librarian of the Los Angeles Public Library.[4]

1890: Elizabeth Putnam Sohier and Anna Eliot Ticknor became the first women appointed to a United States state library agency—specifically, the Massachusetts Board of Library Commissioners.

1911: Theresa Elmendorf became the first female president of the American Library Association.[5]

1912: Lillian Helena Smith became the first trained children's librarian in Canada.[6]

1916: Margaret Duncan became one of the first librarians, and later director, at the Clearwater Public Library in Clearwater, Florida. During World War I, Duncan became the Pinellas County Director for the American Library Association in the United War Campaign.[7]

1921: Alice Dugged Cary served as the first nonprofessional librarian and branch head of the Auburn Branch of the Carnegie Library, the first branch to serve Atlanta's African American citizens under segregation.[8]

1921: Pura Belpré became the first Puerto Rican librarian to be hired by the New York Public Library System.[9]

1923: Virginia Proctor Powell Florence became the first black woman in the United States to earn a degree in library science.[10] She earned the degree (Bachelor of Library Science) from what is now part of the University of Pittsburgh.[11][12][13]

1940: Eliza Atkins Gleason became the first black American to earn a doctorate in library science, which she did at the University of Chicago.[14]

1947: Freda Farrell Waldon became the first president of the Canadian Library Association, and thus, as she was female, its first female president.[15][16]

1949: Christine Wigfall Morris became the first African American to work as a librarian in Clearwater, Florida. She later became the director of the "Negro Library", which opened in 1950.[17]

1963: Shanti Mishra became the first Nepali female librarian. She was appointed as the chief librarian in Tribhuvan University Central Library, after returning from the United States with a Master of Arts in library science. She was the first female librarian of Tribhuvan University Central Library.[18][19]

1963: Marianne Scott was the first president of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries, which became a formal association on July 5, 1963.[20]

1970: Clara Stanton Jones became the first woman (and the first African American) to serve as director of a major library system in America, as director of the Detroit Public Library.[21][22]

1970: The American Library Association's Social Responsibilities Round Table Feminist Task Force (FTF) was founded in 1970 by women who wished to address sexism in libraries and librarianship.[23]

1971: Effie Lee Morris became the first woman and black person to serve as president of the Public Library Association.[14]

1972: Zoia Horn, born in Ukraine, became the first United States librarian to be jailed for refusing to share information as a matter of conscience (and, as she was female, the first female United States librarian to do so.)[24]

1973: Page Ackerman became University Librarian for the University of California, Los Angeles, and thus became the United States' first female librarian of a system as large and complex as UCLA's.[25]

1976: Mary Ronnie became the first female national librarian in the world, due to becoming New Zealand's first female National Librarian.[26]

1976: The Council of the American Library Association passed a "Resolution on Racism and Sexism Awareness" during the ALA's Centennial Conference in Chicago, July 18–24, 1976.[27]

1976: The Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) of the American Library Association[28] was founded in 1976.[29]

1985: Susan Luévano-Molina became the first female president of REFORMA.[30]

1993: Jennifer Tanfield became the first female Librarian of the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.[31]

1999: Elisabeth Niggemann became the first female director general of the German National Library.[32]

2000: Lynne Brindley was appointed as the first female chief executive of the British Library.[33]

2002: Inez Lynn was appointed as the first female librarian in the London Library's history.[34]

2004: Anjana Chattopadhyay became the first Director of the National Medical Library in India.

2009: Anne Jarvis became the first female librarian in Cambridge University's 650-year history.[35]

2012: Sonia L'Heureux became the first female Parliamentary Librarian of Canada.[36]

2016: Laurence Engel became the first female head of the French National Library.[37]

2016: Carla Hayden became the first female Librarian of Congress.[38]

2019: Leslie Weir became the first female Librarian and Archivist of Canada.[39]

## Additional Sources

[edit]

* Chou, Rose L. (Editor) and Annie Pho (Editor). (2018). Pushing the Margins: Women of Color and Intersectionality in LIS. Sacramento CA: Library Juice Press.
* Grotzinger, Laurel A. (1983). "Biographical Research on Women Librarians" in The Status of Women in Librarianship: Historical Sociological and Economic Issues.ed., Kathleen M. Heim. New York N.Y: Neal-Schuman.
* Hildenbrand, Suzanne. (1996). Reclaiming the American Library Past: Writing the Women In. Norwood N.J: Ablex Pub.
* Kaur, Rajwant. (2013). Women Librarians in India: A Study in Work-Life Balance. 2013\. New Delhi: Ess Ess Publications.
* Maack, Mary Niles. (1983). “Women Librarians in France: The First Generation.” The Journal of Library History (1974-1987) 407–49.
* Maack, Mary Niles and Joanne Ellen Passet. (1994). Aspirations and Mentoring in an Academic Environment : Women Faculty in Library and Information Science. Westport Conn: Greenwood Press.
* Myers, Margaret and Mayra Scarborough and Rutgers University Graduate School of Library Service. (1975). Women in Librarianship : Melvil’s Rib Symposium : Proceedings of the Eleventh Annual Symposium Sponsored by the Alumni and Faculty of the Rutgers University Graduate School of Library Service. New Brunswick N.J: Bureau of Library and Information Science Research Rutgers University Graduate School of Library Service.
* Weibel, Kathleen, Kathleen M. Heim and Dianne J. Ellsworth. (1979) The Role of Women in Librarianship 1876-1976: The Entry, Advancement and Struggle for Equalization in One Profession. Phoenix Ariz: Oryx Press.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Du Rietz, Anita, Kvinnors entreprenörskap: under 400 år, 1. uppl., Dialogos, Stockholm, 2013
2. ^ Garrison, Dee (1972–1973). "The Tender Technicians: The Feminization of Public Librarianship, 1876-1905". Journal of Social History. 6 (2): 131–159\. doi:10.1353/jsh/6.2.131. JSTOR 3786606.131-159&rft.date=1972/1973&rft_id=info:doi/10.1353/jsh/6.2.131&rft_id=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3786606#id-name=JSTOR&rft.aulast=Garrison&rft.aufirst=Dee&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Timeline+of+women+in+library+science" class="Z3988">
3. ^ Henson, Pamela M. (2014-03-27). "The Smithsonian's First Woman Employee: Jane W. Turner, Librarian". Smithsonian Institution Archives. Retrieved 2023-12-19.
4. ^ "Los Angeles High School Graduates 1875 to 1885". Archived from the original on 2006-10-31. Retrieved 2006-09-06.
5. ^ Thomison, Dennis (1993). "Elmendorf, Theresa West". In Robert Wedgeworth (ed.). World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services (3rd ed.). Chicago: ALA Editions. ISBN 0-8389-0609-5., p. 280, The death of her husband had forced Theresa Elmendorf to end her unpaid status, and for the next 20 years she held the position of vice-librarian at the Buffalo Public Library. Her new role also meant an increased participation in the American Library Association; in 1911–12 she served as its President, the first woman to hold that position.
6. ^ "Famous Canadian Women's Famous Firsts - Academics and Librarians". Famouscanadianwomen.com. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
7. ^ "The Florida Library History Project. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED422005. 8 August 1998.
8. ^ Nosakhere, Akilah S.; Robinson, Sharon E. (July 15, 1998). "Library Service for African Americans in Georgia: A Legacy of Learning and Leadership in Atlanta" (PDF). Georgia Library Quarterly. 35 (2): 9–12. Retrieved March 16, 2022.9-12&rft.date=1998-07-15&rft.aulast=Nosakhere&rft.aufirst=Akilah+S.&rft.au=Robinson,+Sharon+E.&rft_id=http://www.libsci.sc.edu/histories/georgia/statehistory/Service_For_African_Americans.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Timeline+of+women+in+library+science" class="Z3988">
9. ^ Rivas, Librarian Vianela (2016). "How NYC's First Puerto Rican Librarian Brought Spanish To The Shelves". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
10. ^ 175 Years of Black Pitt People and Notable Milestones. (2004). Blue Black and Gold 2004: Chancellor Mark A. Norenberg Reports on the Pitt African American Experience, 44. Retrieved on 2009-05-22.
11. ^ "Claiming Their Citizenship: African American Women From 1624–2009". Nwhm.org. Archived from the original on 2012-02-27. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
12. ^ Celeste Kimbrough (2004-03-18). "University of Pittsburgh to Honor First African American Librarian In Plaque Dedication Ceremony April 2 | University of Pittsburgh News". News.pitt.edu. Retrieved 2012-08-20.
13. ^ "05-3180-Oberlin-Issue No.32" (PDF). Retrieved 2016-08-10.
14. ^ a b Smith, Katisha (2020-05-08). "13 Pioneering Black American Librarians You Oughta Know". BOOK RIOT. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
15. ^ "Waldon, Freda Farrell | HPL". Hpl.ca. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
16. ^ "CLA AT WORK". cla.ca. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
17. ^ “NEWSMAKER: CHRISTINE WIGFALL MORRIS.” American Libraries, vol. 42, no. 3/4, 2011, pp. 18–18. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/23025353. Accessed 26 June 2024.
18. ^ "Tribhuvan University Central Library and Shanti Mishra". People's Review. 2020-09-08. Retrieved 2022-03-29.
19. ^ "एक 'पुस्तकालय'को अवसान". Himal Khabar (in Nepali). Retrieved 2022-03-29.
20. ^ Canadian Association of Law Libraries. "Administrative History of the Canadian Association of Law Libraries". University of Manitoba. Archived from the original on 4 November 2017. Retrieved 31 October 2013.
21. ^ "Clara Stanton Jones interviewed by Marva DeLoach," in Women of Color in Librarianship, pp.29- 57. ed. by Kathleen McCook, Chicago: American Library Association Editions, 1998.
22. ^ "Trailblazing librarian, U-M alumna Clara Stanton Jones elected to Michigan Women's Hall of Fame". Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: University of Michigan. n.d. Retrieved January 20, 2025.
23. ^ "The Feminist Task Force".
24. ^ Egelko, Bob (2014-07-15). "Zoia Horn, librarian jailed for not testifying against protesters". SFGate. Retrieved 2016-08-04.
25. ^ Setzer, Dawn (2006-03-09). "Obituary: Page Ackerman, Former UCLA University Librarian". UCLA News. Retrieved 2006-12-13.
26. ^ Millen, Julia (22 October 2014). "Mary Ronnie, National Librarian, 1978". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
27. ^ "American Library Association Institutional Repository, News Release: American Library Association, Public Information Office, American Library Association, 50 East Huron Street, Chicago, Illinois 60611, 12 944-6780, From: Peggy Barber, Director, Public Infonnation Office, FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, Resolution on. Racism and Sexism Awareness" (PDF).
28. ^ "American Library Association, Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship". 26 July 2006.
29. ^ Kathleen M. Heim and Katharine Phenix, On Account of Sex: An Annotated Bibliography on the History of Women in Librarianship, 1977–1981 (Chicago: ALA, 1984) Katharine Phenix and Kathleen M. Heim (1982–1986) (Chicago: ALA, 1989); later years by Lori A Goetsch; Sarah Watstein (1987–1992) (Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 1993) Betsy Kruger; Catherine A Larson; Allison A Cowgill (1993–1997) Metuchen: Scarecrow Press, 2000).
30. ^ REFORMA (Association). National Conference (2001). The Power of Language: Selected Papers from the Second REFORMA National Conference. Libraries Unlimited. pp. 44, 45–. ISBN 978-1-56308-945-9.
31. ^ Department of the Official Report (Hansard), House of Commons, Westminster. "House of Commons Hansard Debates for 21 Jul 1999 (pt 21)". Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved 2016-08-12.
32. ^ "History". Deutsche National Bibliothek. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
33. ^ "Woman to head British Library". The Guardian. 9 February 2000. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
34. ^ yesterday. "History of The London Library". Londonlibrary.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-08-10.
35. ^ Healy, Alison (2009). "Cambridge library's first female librarian". The Irish Times. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
36. ^ "Meet Canada’s first female Parliamentary librarian: Sonia L’Heureux". The Hill Times, July 9, 2012.
37. ^ "Laurence Engel nommée à la tête de la BnF". Le Figaro (in French). 6 April 2016. Retrieved 14 August 2016.
38. ^ "Carla Hayden is officially sworn in as the first woman and African-American librarian of Congress". Vox. 2016. Retrieved 2016-09-14.
39. ^ "Leslie Weir appointed as Librarian and Archivist of Canada". Librarianship.ca. 2019. Retrieved 2021-02-18.