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