Rebecca Browning Rankin (April 5, 1887 – March 1, 1965) was an American librarian who directed New York City’s Municipal Reference Library for thirty-two years (1920–1952). Mayor Fiorello H. La Guardia called her a “human index to New York City affairs,” and she became known as the city’s unofficial historian. She expanded the library into a major research resource, pioneered radio for civic education, wrote widely read books on municipal government, and played a central role in establishing the Municipal Archives and Records Center.
Rebecca Rankin was born April 5, 1887, in Piqua, Ohio and earned a BA at the University of Michigan in 1909. While an undergraduate she worked in the cataloging department of the university library. She then received a full scholarship to Simmons College (now Simmons University) in Boston, where she earned a Master of Library Science degree in 1913.
After graduation she became librarian at the State Normal School (later Washington State Normal College) in Ellensburg, Washington, serving for about five years. There she built a practical collection for teacher training, started a bulletin to share information with teachers statewide, and taught courses in library methods.
In 1919 she was appointed assistant librarian of the Municipal Reference Library (then a branch of the New York Public Library) director in 1920. She held the position until her retirement on June 30, 1952—the same day the Municipal Archives and Records Center she had long championed officially opened.
Under her leadership the library grew from a modest collection into a repository of roughly 100,000 books, documents, pamphlets, reports, and surveys on New York and other major cities—the largest municipal reference library of its kind in the United States. She emphasized Progressive Era ideals of efficiency, reform, and informed citizenship, making government information accessible to officials, employees, and the public.
When budget cuts limited traditional publicity, Rankin pioneered radio outreach. Between 1928 and 1938 she and her staff prepared and delivered more than 300 talks on WNYC, including weekly series such as “Civics-in-Action” and “Highlights in Municipal Government.” Topics ranged from street cleaning and bridges to proportional representation and everyday city life. The programs increased library use and provided direct civic education in an era of limited local media. Her first broadcast, on March 5, 1928, described the library’s role in helping officials adopt sound policies and answering citizens’ questions about their government.
In 1936, with La Guardia’s encouragement, she published Guide to the Municipal Government of the City of New York. The same year she edited New York Advancing: A Scientific Approach to Municipal Government (with seven assistants), which included an essay by the mayor. Released on September 10, 1936, at $1 a copy, it became a surprise bestseller, generating hundreds of telephone orders daily in its first days. It was reissued as a World’s Fair edition in 1939 and a “victory” edition in 1946 that covered the city’s wartime role.
Rankin also co-authored New York: The World’s Capital City (1948) and produced dozens of articles, speeches, and lectures. She compiled and edited multiple editions of the municipal guide.
Rankin transferred valuable historical city records—including early mayors’ papers and seventeenth-century Common Council documents—to the library for preservation. After the 1933 election of Fiorello La Guardia (whom she had assisted earlier when he was president of the Board of Aldermen), she renewed a productive working relationship. He frequently consulted the library and supported her work. In 1939 he appointed her chair of the Mayor’s Municipal Archives Committee; she held the post for more than a decade. The city acquired the Rhinelander Building for historical records, and Rankin secured funding for staff, shelving, and boxes despite wartime shortages. Centralized storage of inactive records saved the city approximately $1.2 million in rent between 1942 and 1952.
After World War II, Mayor William O’Dwyer reappointed her and charged her with developing a modern records-management program. She oversaw a retention manual and training for records officers. On June 23, 1952, she presided over the graduation of thirty-three new public-records officers..
From 1942 to 1945 Rankin also served as secretary of the New York City Committee for Latin-American Scholarships , arranging free business and professional courses for Latin American college graduates with funding from companies that had South American ties.
Rankin was president of the Special Libraries Association (1922–1923) and later served as its secretary, helping organize its headquarters in New York. She was inducted into the SLA Hall of Fame in 1959. She also helped secure eligibility for New York City public librarians in the state employees’ pension and retirement system.
She died on March 1, 1965 at Dobbs Ferry Hospital at age 77.
A full-length biography by Barry W. Seaver, A True Politician: Rebecca Browning Rankin, Municipal Reference Librarian of the City of New York, 1920–1952 (McFarland, 2004), based on primary sources in the New York Public Library and city archives, examines her career and its place in the city’s political and cultural history.
Sources
Cobb, Kenneth R. “Rebecca Rankin.” NYC Department of Records & Information Services, March 30, 2018.
Lanset, Andy. “Rebecca B. Rankin: Early Advocate for Public Access to Government Information.” WNYC, November 30, 2017.
“Rebecca B. Rankin.” Wikipedia. Last modified November 1, 2026.
Seaver, Barry W. A True Politician: Rebecca Browning Rankin, Municipal Reference Librarian of the City of New York, 1920–1952. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2004.
“Rebecca Rankin, Librarian, Dies; Municipal Reference Branch Chief Aided City Officials.” New York Times, March 3, 1965.
“34-Year ‘Visit’ to City Now Ending for Municipal Reference Librarian.” New York Times, May 26, 1952.
Submitted by LHRT Member