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Legendary ladies in librarianship
Jane W. Turner
the first female employee hired at the Smithsonian. She was appointed as a Library clerk in 1858 with the help of her brother, William, who was responsible for the Library at the time. When he passed away a year later, she assumed his role as head of the Library.
Pura Belpré
the first Puerto Rican librarian in New York City. Her work was in promoting literary access to speakers of both English and Spanish through her outreach efforts and bilingual storytelling. She also helped fill the shelves: Belpré collected, translated and published Puerto Rican folklore for children, inspiring the creation of the Pura Belpré Award in her legacy. Several juvenile works in the Library have her medal of honor on the cover!
Clara Stanton Jones
who broke barriers like no other: in 1970 she served as both the first woman and the first African American to act as a director for a major Library system in the US, in Detroit. Just a few years later she became the first African American president of the American Library Assocation.
Anne Jarvis
the first female University Librarian at Cambridge University. Before her, the Library had operated for 650 years with all male appointees.
