Birth of Virginia Lacy Jones

Virginia Lacy Jones was born on September 25, 1912, in Cincinnati, Ohio. She was raised in a family environment that emphasized the value of education, particularly at a time when opportunities for Black Americans, and Black women especially, were severely constrained by segregation and systemic racism.

Her upbringing set the foundation for a lifetime devoted to educational advancement and library science. She would go on to become one of the most influential figures in American library education, particularly in the training of African American librarians during the era of segregation.

Her early exposure to the importance of literacy and access to information would shape her life's work, eventually leading her to become a pioneering dean and administrator who transformed library science education for generations of students at historically Black colleges and universities.