193:, before her graduation from Columbia University. While at Columbia, she was recruited to work at Florida's newest state university, the University of South Florida. She was hired in 1958 as a catalog librarian, the fourth employee of the university. Harkness and other library employees worked at a house in Tampa's Hyde Park neighborhood, a house on campus, and the university student union ballroom before the library building opened in 1961.
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Her career at USF saw her help create a library collection that started from zero, and grew to approximately 800,000 by the time she retired as library director in 1988. During this time she helped to implement automation technology, and she fought to ensure that it received its fair share of
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to assist with the creation of national system of libraries. She felt strongly about women's rights and women in politics. She was member of the Athena
Society, the USF Women's Club, and she also worked on the campaigns of former state Sen.
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In 1968, Harkness became the library's director. She was the first woman to hold such a position in the
Florida university system, and at the time, one of a few to hold such a position nationwide.
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Indian
Reservation. Mary and her brother would either walk or ride horseback to a two-room schoolhouse during her grade school years, but by her senior year she and her family had moved to
137:(August 19, 1925 – May 13, 2014) was a librarian and a university library director, the first woman to hold that title at any Florida university. She was the fourth employee hired by the
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Harkness, M.L. (June 10, 2003). Interview by
Greenberg, Y.V. USF 50th Anniversary Project, University of South Florida. USF Digital Collections, Tampa. Available at
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Meacham, A. (May 20, 2014). Mary Lou
Harkness built USF's library from nothing to the digital age. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved from
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https://www.tampabay.com/news/obituaries/mary-lou-harkness-built-usfs-library-from-nothing-to-the-digital-age/2180677/
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Girona, J. (May 14, 2014). USF's first woman library director dies at 88. Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved from
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for two semesters of post-graduate study. Finally, she earned the master's degree in library science from
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funding, from
Florida legislators who, she said, tended to favor older universities in the state.
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Mary Lou
Harkness: Obituary. (May 20, 2014). Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved from
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http://tbo.com/news/crime/usfs-first-library-director-dies-at-88-20140514/
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http://digital.lib.usf.edu/content/SF/S0/02/43/69/00001/U23-00061.pdf
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http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/sptimes/obituary.aspx?pid=171079632
217:(who was also USF's first female president), and former Tampa Mayor
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169:. Following that, she earned her Bachelor of Science degree from
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Her first employment in the field of librarianship was at the
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to live with family friends. She graduated high school as
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Columbia
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149:She was born Mary Lou Barker in
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16:American librarian (1925–2014)
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336:University of Michigan alumni
208:In 1962 Harkness traveled to
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171:Nebraska Wesleyan University
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110:Librarian, Library Director
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135:Mary Lou Harkness
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63:(2014-05-13)
61:May 13, 2014
50:South Dakota
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311:2014 deaths
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81:Nationality
300:Categories
225:References
145:Early life
41:1925-08-19
219:Pam Iorio
163:Nebraska
115:Employer
84:American
210:Nigeria
73:Florida
48:Denby,
200:Legacy
185:Career
159:Gordon
125:Spouse
75:, U.S.
52:, U.S.
69:Tampa
58:Died
31:Born
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