Lillian M. Bradshaw
Quick Facts
Biography
Lillian Moore Bradshaw (January 10, 1915 – February 9, 2010) was a prominent librarian and leader in the profession. She served as director of the Dallas Public Library from 1962 to 1984 and as president of the American Library Association from 1980 to 1971.
Born Lillian Moore in Hagerstown, Maryland, she grew up in Frederick, Maryland. She was the first in her family to attend college and graduated from Western Maryland College in Westminster, Maryland with her bachelor's degree before moving to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to attend Drexel University's School of Library Sciences. Her first job in libraries was in Utica, New York. She met her husband, William "Brad" Bradshaw, while working for the Enoch Pratt Free Library in Baltimore, Maryland.In 1946, she was one of the first married women hired at the Dallas Public Library. After 16 years, she was named the first female director of the Dallas Public Library and the first woman to lead a major public library in the United States. During her tenure in Dallas, Bradshaw served the profession in a number of roles including president of the American Library Association in 1970. She served as a Trustee of the Freedom to Read Foundation and was named to their Roll of Honor in 1993.
Bradshaw died on Tuesday February 9, 2010 of natural causes in Dallas. She was 95.