Josephine Adams Rathbone (September 10, 1864 – May 17, 1941) was a librarian, library educator, author, and president of the

American Library Association The American Library Association (ALA) is a nonprofit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with 49,727 members ...

in 1931–32. She was born in

Jamestown, New York Jamestown is a city in southern Chautauqua County, in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 28,712 at the 2020 census. Situated between Lake Erie to the north and the Allegheny National Forest to the south, Jamestown is the largest po ...

. She began her studies at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

from 1887 to 1891, then moved to New York where she graduated from the New York State Library School in 1893 earning a B.L.S. After working for two years as an assistant cataloger at the Pratt Institute Free Library she was appointed "chief instructor" at the Pratt Institute Library School in 1895 under

Mary Wright Plummer Mary Wright Plummer (March 8, 1856 in Richmond, Indiana – September 21, 1916 in Dixon, Illinois) was an American librarian who became the second female president of the American Library Association (1915–1916). Biography Mary Wright Plumme ...

.Brand, Barbara B.
"Pratt Institute Library School: The Perils of Professionalization."
In Suzanne Hildenbrand (Ed.), ''Reclaiming the American Library Past: Writing the Women In'', pp. 251-278. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing, 1996. When Plummer went to the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second largest public library in the United States (behind the Library of Congress) ...

to establish its Training Class in 1911, Rathbone was appointed vice-director of the Pratt Institute school, a position she held until she retired in 1938. Rathbone was active in state and local professional associations serving as secretary of the New York State Library Association and president of the New York Library Club.New York Library Club. http://nylibraryclub.org/ In 1931-1932 she was president of the

(ALA).

Bibliography

*
Libraries to See in Greater New York
' Wisconsin Library Bulletin, Volume 12. February, 1916. pages 53–58 *
Viewpoints in Travel; An Arrangement of Books According to Their Essential Interest
'' Chicago: American library Association Pub. board, 1919. *
Shelf Department
'' Chicago: American Library Association Pub. board, 1918.

References

American librarians American women librarians Presidents of the American Library Association 1864 births 1941 deaths University of Michigan alumni {{Library-bio-stub