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In a March 1928 WNYC broadcast, she described the library's role to listeners, listing its functions as encouraging city officials to "intelligently adopt the best policies for the governing of the City," providing resources to city employees and citizens, and answering questions about the city and its governance. She published her first book,
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sharing civic information and promoting the library's services. These took the form of multiple WNYC series, including "Civics-in-Action" and "Highlights in
Municipal Government". Rankin used these broadcasts as a way to advance her fervent beliefs in the ideas of reform and efficiency in government.
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in
Ellensburg, Washington. In her five years at the Washington State Normal School, she developed a library collection that emphasized the most current information for the training of teachers. Rankin started a bulletin sharing information with teachers across the state, as well as teaching courses
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The City had purchased the 12-story
Rhinelander Building in 1939 to house historical records, but only after Rankin's continued efforts was funding authorized for appropriate staff, shelving, and boxes. By moving inactive records to a centralized storage facility, the municipal departments of the
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She was a strong supporter of Mayor
Fiorello LaGuardia, who frequently contacted the library with questions. New York City's municipal records had been stored in haphazard conditions for decades, and Rankin worked to transfer particularly important collections to the Municipal Library. Rankin
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While her undergraduate degree at the
University of Michigan, Rankin worked in the cataloging department of the university's general library. Upon graduating with her master's degree in 1913, she received several job offers, deciding to take the opportunity to run the library for the
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called Rankin a "human index to New York City affairs," and she gained a reputation as the City's unofficial historian. Her efforts secured the preservation of historic documents and promoted access to government information for municipal employees and citizens alike.
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persuaded Mayor LaGuardia to establish the Mayor's
Municipal Archives Committee, which she chaired for over ten years. Under the Committee's charge, the MRL became the chief institution for New York City's archival and records management functions. Mayor
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Rankin attended the
University of Michigan, graduating with her bachelor's degree in 1909. She received a full scholarship to attend Simmons University in Boston, where she earned her master in library science degree in 1913.
165:. Just a few months later, in January 1919, Rankin was named the assistant librarian at the Municipal Reference Library (MRL), a branch of the NYPL. She was appointed the Municipal Reference Library's director in 1920.
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In her role as director of the MRL, Rankin worked to promote the resources and services of the library. She and her staff prepared and delivered over 300 radio talks between 1928 and 1938, with weekly broadcasts over
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from 1922 to 1923. In the 1930s, she served as the SLA Secretary, organizing the association's headquarters in New York City. In May 1959, she was inducted into the
Special Libraries Association Hall of Fame.
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Historian
Elisabeth Israels Perry credits Rankin and Pearl Bernstein, the Secretary of the Board of Estimate, with writing Mayor La Guardia's essay for the book from a list of points that he gave to them.
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Her relationships with municipal employees played a key role in ensuring that NYC's public librarians were designated as eligible for the New York State
Employee's pension and retirement system.
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commended Rankin for her efforts in making the new Municipal Archives and Records Center (MARC) a reality. She retired on the day the new center opened, June 30, 1952.
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reporter: "Women have the 'feel' of the tie-up between the man in the street and his government" and therefore they could make the book accessible to a broad audience.
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requested that Rankin develop a modern records management program; she developed a record retention manual and a training course for records managers.
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467:"Rebecca Browning Rankin Uses Radio to Promote the Municipal Reference Library of the City of New York and the Civic Education of Its Citizens"
123:(April 5, 1887 – March 1, 1965) was the director of the New York City's Municipal Reference Library for thirty-two years. New York City Mayor
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A biography of the important role Rankin played as New York City's "unofficial historian" was published by Barry W. Seaver in 2004:
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638:"$ 1,200,000 is Saved on City's Records; Rebecca Rankin, Soon to Retire, Reports Success of Storage in New Center Since 1942"
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became a surprise bestseller in the city, with subsequent editions being published in 1939 and 1946. Rankin told a
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A True Politician: Rebecca Browning Rankin, Municipal Reference Librarian of the City of New York, 1920–1952
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Seaver, Barry W. (2010). "Rebecca Rankin's Campaign for a Municipal Archives in New York, 1920–1952".
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In 1918, Rankin moved to New York City to support her family, and took a position as assistant to
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Rebecca Browning Rankin was born April 5, 1887, in Piqua, Ohio. She grew up in Illinois.
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437:"Rebecca B. Rankin: Early Advocate for Public Access to Government Information"
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608:"Rebecca Browning Rankin (1887-1965): Special Librarian of New York City"
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in 1936. Also in 1936, with the help of seven assistants, Rankin edited
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city saved about $ 1,200,000 in rent from 1942 to 1952. In 1952, Mayor
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New York Advancing: a Scientific Approach to Municipal Government.
364:. Westport, Connecticut: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 180–181.
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Dictionary of American Library Biography: Second Supplement
362:
Dictionary of American library biography. Second supplement
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After the Vote: Feminist Politics in La Guardia's New York
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Rankin died March 1, 1965, at the Dobbs Ferry Hospital in
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Guide to the Municipal Government of the City of New York
701:. Westport, CT: Libraries Unlimited. pp. 180–182.
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NYC Department of Records & Information Services
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Career with NYPL and the Municipal Reference Library
516:Cope, R. L. (November 2004). "Ahead of her time ".
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585:. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 195.
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310:(3). University of Texas Press: 263–296.
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132:Early life, education, and early career
695:"Rankin, Rebecca Browning (1887–1965)"
215:Rankin served as the president of the
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471:Libraries & the Cultural Record
304:Libraries & the Cultural Record
443:. NYPR Archives & Preservation
406:Cobb, Kenneth R. (30 March 2018).
360:Davis, Donald G. Jr., ed. (2003).
14:
581:Perry, Elisabeth Israels (2019).
547:Rankin, Rebecca B. (March 1928).
435:Lanset, Andy (30 November 2017).
270:"Rebecca B. Rankin: In Memoriam"
606:Panovich-Sachs, Linda (1982).
526:10.1080/00049670.2004.10721701
518:The Australian Library Journal
465:Seaver, Barry William (2001).
268:Katsaros, James (April 1965).
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752:University of Michigan alumni
697:. In Davis, Donald G. (ed.).
668:Special Libraries Association
217:Special Libraries Association
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757:Simmons University alumni
742:American women librarians
693:Seaver, Barry W. (2003).
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211:Service to librarianship
747:People from Piqua, Ohio
205:Vincent R. Impellitteri
159:New York Public Library
121:Rebecca Browning Rankin
664:"SLA Past Presidents"
483:10.1353/lac.2001.0044
316:10.1353/lac.2010.0012
233:Dobbs Ferry, New York
149:on library methods.
737:American librarians
146:State Normal School
74:March 1, 1965
45:April 5, 1887
642:The New York Times
185:New York Advancing
125:Fiorello LaGuardia
16:American librarian
708:978-1-56308-868-1
612:Special Libraries
553:Special Libraries
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163:Edwin H. Anderson
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721:Categories
559:(3): 66–68
371:1563088681
246:References
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673:16 August
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622:18 August
563:18 August
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491:142820375
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332:142742848
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105:Librarian
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56:Piqua
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42:Born
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
