HCPL Directors Collection
HCPL had 10 different leaders over its first 100 years. The title has changed from County Librarian to Library Director, but the mission has always stayed the same: providing free access to books to all Harris County residents. Below is a list of the leaders that have shaped HCPL and the county.
Browse all items in the collection. Or visit the digital exhibit HCPL Directors.
Lucy Fuller​ Gross
County Librarian
1921-1926
View photographs and newspaper articles featuring Lucy Fuller Gross.
Read annual reports and budgets prepared by Lucy Fuller Gross.
Ruth Underwood​ Pooley
County Librarian
1926-1932
View photographs and newspaper articles featuring Ruth Underwood Pooley.
Read annual reports prepared by Ruth Underwood Pooley.
Elnora Edgar Buchanan
County Librarian
1932-1939
View photographs and newspaper articles featuring Elnora Edgar Buchanan.
Read annual reports prepared by Elnora Edgar Buchanan.
Reba Anderson
County Librarian
1939-1945
View a photograph of Reba Anderson.
Read annual reports prepared by Reba Anderson.
Bernice Snell
County Librarian
1945-1951
View photographs and newspaper clippings featuring Bernice Snell.
Read annual reports prepared by Bernice Snell.
Mary Butler Owensby
County Librarian
1951-1974
View photographs and newspaper clippings featuring Mary Butler Owensby.
Read correspondence and annual reports by Mary Butler Owensby.
Katherine "Kathy" Skinner Brown
Library Director
1974-1979
Read a profile of Kathy Skinner Brown written in May 1974.
View photographs featuring Kathy Skinner Brown.
Read annual reports prepared by Kathy Skinner Brown.
Catherine "Cathy" S. Park
Library Director
1979-2006
View photographs and video featuring Cathy S. Park.
Read correspondence by Cathy S. Park.
Rhoda Goldberg
Library Director
2008-2013
View photographs featuring Rhoda Goldberg.
Read correspondence to and from Rhoda Goldberg.
Edward Melton