Pauline Short Robinson ~ Image Courtesy of the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame
Pauline Short Robinson - African American Library Pioneer
Posted on Behalf of Guest Blogger and Librarian Josh Hem Lee
At the 1996 dedication of the Denver Public Library branch named for her, Pauline Robinson is reported to have said, “Of all the honors, the truest satisfaction that I’ve received throughout my career has been encouraging young people to continue their education and to prepare for their life long goals.” These words aptly describe Robinson’s life time of work and commitment to children.
Born in Oklahoma in 1915, Robinson learned to read before she entered school under the able tutelage of her grandfather. She graduated high school in Lawton, Oklahoma, and thereafter relocated to Denver where she worked as a domestic. Robinson long harbored the ambition of being a lawyer, but the high cost of a law education prevented the fulfillment of this plan.
Pauline Robinson - Image Courtesy of Denver Post Collection, Bill Johnson, 1969
She found a job at the Community Vocational Center Library in Five Points, the heart of Denver’s African American community. There she observed that students lacked books that would help them learn about their rich African heritage. In the 1940s, the library did not have a budget to purchase African American books and materials. Robinson launched a fundraiser by selling home-baked pies and cakes and made $40, enough to purchase a collection of African American children’s materials. She also did outreach to businesses in the community to raise funds to purchase African American newspapers and journals.
Robinson realized that she loved teaching children to read, but after being told that the Denver Public School system would not hire African American teachers to teach classes higher than the first-grade, she applied to the University of Denver’s library school. In 1945, Robinson became Denver’s first African American librarian at the newly opened Cosmopolitan Branch Library. This, despite being told by a supervisor years earlier that, “There would never be a professional Negro working at the Denver Public Library.”
Robinson left a lasting legacy; she played a key role in bringing the Reading Is Fundamental program to Denver. She served 15 years as DPL’s Coordinator of Children Services, worked at several DPL branches and served on selection committees for two national prestigious book awards. Robinson retired from the Denver Public Library in 1979. In 1973 she was inducted into the library's Blacks in Colorado Hall of Fame and in 2000, she was inducted into The Colorado Women's Hall of Fame.
Robinson died in 1997, one year after DPL named the Pauline Robinson branch in her honor. "Like" the Pauline Robinson’s Facebook page for more information about upcoming events and activities for children and adults.
Pauline Robinson Branch Library ~ Image Courtesy of Doors Open Denver
Sources:
Colorado Women's Hall of Fame. (n.d.). Pauline Short Robinson. Retrieved from http://www.cogreatwomen.org/project/pauline-short-robinson/
Denver Public Library. (n.d). The history of the Denver public library. Retrieved from https://history.denverlibrary.org/history-denver-public-library
Taylor, Q., & Wilson-Moore, S. (Eds.). (2003). African American women confront the west, 1600-2000, Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press.
Comments
"This, despite being told by a supervisor years earlier that, “There would never be a professional Negro working at the Denver Public Library.”
It looks like its still true. No professional Negro/African-American/Black person seem to work at the main library. Not surprising, just...
Where was the Cosmopolitan Branch Library?
The Cosmopolitan Branch Library opened May 1945 and was located in Five Points (2563 Welton St). If you're interested, we have a small collection about Pauline Robinson at the Blair-Caldwell Library. Feel free to call 720-865-2401 or email askblaircaldwell@denverlibrary.org to make an appointment to check out the collection.
Thank you for this great post! I was happy to learn more about the life of this influential, courageous woman.
We have a display of Pauline Robinson 's life from her own words at the Pauline Robinson Branch Library.
I'd like to see this info about the lawyer education - as that is not in her own words.
Add new comment