Library Honors Gladys Davis for More Than 60 Years of Service

In honor of Black History Month, the Alexandria Library system is paying tribute to Gladys Davis, who worked at the institution from 1947 to 2008, more than 60 years.

Davis witnessed much transformation during her tenure. Library Director Rose Dawson sat down in Davis' home to interview the Alexandria native, who was raised in a row house on Queen Street just blocks from the Barrett Branch Library.

In sharing her story, Davis reflected on growing up as a child in the 1930s, being reared in a family that embraced education and deciding on a library career, where her role in the juvenile department would help enhance learning for Alexandria’s children and their posterity.

Her first-hand recollection of one of the nation's earliest Civil Rights sit-ins that took place in 1939 at the Barrett Branch—which will be the subject matter that C-SPAN will feature in March—is certainly compelling to hear.