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.

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

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.Thomison, Dennis (1993). "Elmendorf, Theresa West". In Robert Wedgeworth (ed.). ''World Encyclopedia of Library and Information Services'' (3rd ed.). Chicago: ALA Editions. ., 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.''

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

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.

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

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

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

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

1963: Shanti Mishra became first Nepali female librarian. She was appointed as the Chief librarian in Tribhuvan University Central Library, after returning from US with an MA in library science.

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.

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.

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

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.)

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.

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.

1976: The Committee on the Status of Women in Librarianship (COSWL) of the American Library Association was founded in 1976.Kathleen de la Peña McCook 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 de la Peña McCook (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).

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

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

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

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

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

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.

2012: Sonia L'Heureux became the first female Parliamentary Librarian of Canada."Meet Canada’s first female Parliamentary librarian: Sonia L’Heureux". '' The Hill Times'', July 9, 2012.

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

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

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

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