Monteria Hightower facts for kids

Monteria Hightower (born 1929) is an American librarian who made history. She was the very first Black state librarian in Nevada. She was also the fifth Black state librarian in the entire United States. Before that, she was the first Black state librarian in Missouri.

Early Life and Education

Monteria Hightower was born in Nacogdoches, Texas, in 1929. Her parents were Harrison and Laura Hightower. She went to Butler College (Texas) in Texas. Later, she earned her master's degree in library science from the University of Maryland in 1970.

Leading Libraries

Monteria Hightower has had a long and important career in libraries. She worked at the Los Angeles Public Library and other public libraries in Maryland and Connecticut. From 1982 to 1986, she was the director of Central Services at the Seattle Public Library. She was the first Black person to hold an administrative role there. She also supervised branches at the DC Public Library.

State Librarian in Missouri

In 1986, Hightower became the State Librarian of Missouri. She was the first Black person to hold this position in Missouri. During her time, she started several important programs. She helped the Missouri State Library become a "Center for the Book." This special title came from the Library of Congress. She also helped organize a big meeting called the Missouri Governor's Conference on Library and Information Services.

Hightower believed in fairness and professionalism. She felt she was being asked to give special jobs to friends or family members of state employees. She even mentioned being asked to open the state library on Mother's Day for the governor's son to finish homework. She strongly disagreed with these requests. In September 1994, she resigned from her job to protest these unfair practices.

Moving to Nevada

After leaving Missouri, Hightower moved to Nevada. She worked in the Clark County library system for a while. In April 1999, she took on a new role. She became the Administrator of the State Library and Archives for Nevada. This made her the first Black state librarian in Nevada's history. She worked there until she retired in October 2000. The Nevada Library Association recognized her hard work. They named her "Librarian of the Year" in 1998.

Advocating for Change

Monteria Hightower was also active in the American Library Association (ALA). She served as a Councillor and was a member of the Black Caucus. She strongly encouraged the ALA to hire more people of color. She believed in making the library profession more diverse and welcoming for everyone.

She also wrote a book in 1976. It was called Commonalities and Diversities in Public Library Programming in a Pluralistic Society, Serving Our Ethnic Publics.