Mary Louise Lambert Pickett and the Milwaukee Public Library (Milwaukee, Wisconsin)

Mary Louise Lambert Pickett (1919-1979) was the first African American librarian hired by the Milwaukee Public Library. Ms. Pickett began her tenure at the Milwaukee Public Library on July 1, 1946. Previously, Ms. Pickett worked at the Chicago Public Library (1945-1946) and at Dillard University (1942-1943). She received her Master of Library Science (MLS) from the University of Chicago in 1944. Ms. Pickett was a member of Delta Sigma Theta, the Wisconsin Library Association, the NAACP, and the Young Adult Services Division of the American Library Association. She passed away in 1979.

*Note: The Young Adult Services Division (YASD) of the American Library Association is now the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA).

Sources: Milwaukee Public Library ; Grant, George, comp. "Pickett, Mary Louise Lambert." The Directory of Ethnic Professionals in LIS. Winter Park: Four-G Publishers, 1991. 179-180. Print. ; "Mary L. Pickett." Wisconsin Death Index, 1959-1997. FamilySearch.org., n.d. Web. 10 Aug. 2014.