Katharine Sharp Biography

Katharine Lucinda Sharp (May 25, 1865 – June 1, 1914) gained prominence as a pioneering librarian for her intense engagement with the library profession that spanned 19 years. Having founded the innovative University of Illinois Library School, she resigned from her position and left the library field as rapidly as she had entered it. She is remembered for ‘professionalizing’ the field of library science and for her considerable contribution to the standards of the discipline. In 1999, she was named in the American Library Association's 100 leaders of the 20th century.