NYPL's Ann Thornton: The First Woman to Lead the Research Libraries

In honor of Women's History Month, the Library is taking a look back at some of the remarkable women who changed The New York Public Library—and the field of librarianship—forever with our new series, Foreword: Women Who Built NYPL. Each week this March, we will be sharing reflections from our current staff on how the impact of these trailblazing figures from the Library's 125-year history are still felt today. 

About Ann Thornton

Ann Thornton was the first woman to serve as Andrew W. Mellon Director of the New York Public Library’s Research Libraries. Thornton began her career at NYPL in instruction at the then Science, Industry and Business Library in 1996, and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming Associate Director for the Humanities and Social Sciences and then Director of Reference and Research Services. She currently serves as Vice Provost and University Librarian for Columbia University.

Ann Thornton’s Legacy

Reflection by Denise Hibay, Astor Director for Collections and Research Services

We don’t have to go too far back in time to find an excellent example of a modern woman who made a difference at The New York Public Library. I feel honored to share my reflections on Ann Thornton, a long-admired colleague and mentor, who rose through the ranks at NYPL to become the first woman librarian to lead the Research Libraries as the Andrew W. Mellon Director. 

Ann was exceptional in all that she did at NYPL and left a legacy of good work and collaborative partnerships that have helped position the Library for years to come. From the start of her career, she was steeped in working with technological systems and the new electronic resources that would propel libraries into the 21st century. She began her career at NYPL in 1996, joining the staff of the then-newest research center, the Science, Industry and Business Library (SIBL), as the first training coordinator in its Electronic Information Center, which at the time, housed the most extensive collection of e-resources at NYPL. She went on to hold more leadership roles, including as Director of Reference and Research Services, during which time she expanded the Library’s interlibrary loan networks and established a system-wide virtual reference service: Ask NYPL. Ann stood out as a natural leader and collaborator, someone who brought people together for a common cause; and a librarian committed to providing the best possible services to our patrons.

As Mellon Director, she had a vision for expanding the Library’s resource-sharing networks to increase access to collections for NYPL patrons, and also to reduce barriers to access. We continue to build on these initiatives to this day with the Manhattan Research Library Initiative (MaRLI) and, with our partners in the Research Collections and Preservation Consortium, the ReCAP Shared Collection, a transformative collaboration which provides our patrons with seamless discovery and access to millions more books and other library materials from the collections of our partners, which include Columbia and Harvard Universities.

In her current role as Vice Provost and University Librarian for Columbia University, she remains a colleague and friend to the Library and her many former colleagues. She was a trailblazer at NYPL, and if there is one lesson above all that I’ve learned during my three-decade plus career with the Library, it’s that we are here to build on the work of others to bring this inspiring and noble institution forward.

This is part of the Foreword: Women Who Built NYPL series. Find out how the Library is celebrating Women's History Month with recommended reading, events and programs, and more.