Josephine Adams Rathbone Papers

Josephine Adams Rathbone is believed by many to be one of the pioneers of library science education. In the course of her life, she would involve herself in numerous aspects of the library world and help shape the definition of a library and that of a librarian. While working at Pratt Institute during the course of her professional career, Rathbone also found herself highly involved within professional organizations. Over the course her career, she would develop a reputation as the person whose “personality and unusual ability would keep… the library school flourishing.”

Born in 1864, Josephine Adams Rathbone began her career at Pratt in 1893 immediately after graduating from the New York Library School in Albany. Her first position was that of an assistant cataloger in the Pratt Library. By 1895, she was Chief Instructor in the Pratt Library School, a position she would hold until 1911. In that year, she would become Vice-Director after Mary Plummer’s resignation. During her thirty-year tenure as Vice-Director, Ms. Rathbone virtually ran the Library School despite being subordinate to the Director, Edward Stevens. Her active position within the library allowed her much leeway within the political environment at Pratt Institute. As Vice-Director she would be responsible for not only administrative duties, but also admissions, student evaluations, class trips and teaching courses that ranged from book selection to reference and classification work. Rathbone was also instrumental in placing her graduates with jobs and evaluating the adequacy of the program.

During those years as Vice-Director, she also became involved with such professional organizations as the Association of American Library Schools and the American Library Association (ALA), which she served as president in 1931-1932. She would also stay active within the immediate New York library community by serving in the New York Library Association and the New Library Club. Often she participated in luncheons at these organizations and gave speeches and advice on the state of the profession. Up to her death in 1941, she continued her involvement in numerous library-related activities. With her proactive stance toward librarianship, Ms. Rathbone developed a strong reputation throughout the profession.