Mary Ronnie

Mary Allan Ronnie QSO (12 June 1926 – 17 March 2023) was a New Zealand librarian. She was New Zealand's first female National Librarian, from 1976 to 1981, and the first woman in the world to head a national library. Before becoming National Librarian she was head of Dunedin Public Library, and afterwards she served as Auckland City Librarian.^[1]

Mary Ronnie QSO
Ronnie in 1978
New Zealand National Librarian
In office 1976–1981
Personal details
Born	Mary Allan Ronnie (1926-06-12)12 June 1926 Glasgow, Scotland
Died	17 March 2023(2023-03-17) (aged 96)
Spouse	Peter O'Connor ​ ​ (m. 1981; died 1994)​
Alma mater	University of Otago
Occupation	Librarian historian

Early life

Ronnie was born in Glasgow, Scotland, on 12 June 1926,^[2] emigrating as a child to Dunedin, New Zealand, with her family in 1937.^[3][4] She attended Arthur Street School and Otago Girls' High School. In 1942 she got her first job in a library, an after-school position, in Dunedin Public Library. There she was influenced by the City Librarian, Archie Dunningham, and Dorothy Neal White (author of books on children's literature).^[3][5] After leaving school, she enrolled at the University of Otago but, finding university study not to her liking, she obtained a full-time job in the public library. She was to return to university later, studying part-time and gaining a Bachelor of Arts in English, philosophy and history in 1951.^[3][6][7] She completed the Certificate of the New Zealand Library Association in 1946, and in 1952 spent a year studying at the Library School in Wellington.^[3][6] In 1965, she completed a Master of Arts degree in history part-time, while working in the library.^[7]

Career

Dunedin Public Library 2016

Ronnie spent eight years as Head of Lending at Dunedin Public Library, a period that she regarded as one of her most productive.^[3] She gained overseas experience in branch libraries working in Glasgow for a year in 1960–61.^[6] In 1961, she became Deputy City Librarian in Dunedin, a position she held for eight years, succeeding Ada Fache in 1968 to become City Librarian. During her eight years in the latter position, she oversaw the building of a new library in Dunedin.^[3]

In 1976, Ronnie moved to Wellington to become National Librarian after being encouraged by colleagues to take up the position.^[3] Ronnie took early retirement from the National Library in 1981; she would have had to retire in 1986 as the government service stipulated retirement at age 60. Her early retirement was prompted by her marriage to Peter O'Connor, an associate professor of history at the University of Auckland, and her move to live in Auckland.^[6] Also, preparations were underway to build a new National Library, and she felt that the planning for the new building should be done by someone who would work in the building long-term.^[6]

Auckland City Library 2008

After moving to Auckland, Ronnie became Auckland City Librarian from 1982 to 1984. In 1987, she joined the Graduate Department of Librarianship, Archives and Records at Monash University in Melbourne, serving as Head of Department and Acting Professor of the Department from 1989 to 1992.

From 1973 to 1974, Ronnie was president of the New Zealand Library Association.^[8] She also served on the University of Otago Council from 1974 to 1975.^[7]

Ronnie also wrote about libraries. Her writings included:

• a history of Otago and Southland libraries^[9]
• a history of Wellington Public Libraries^[10]
• histories of Dunedin Public Library^[11][12][13]
• the National Library Act 1965^[14]
• regional library services^[15]
• education for librarianship^[16]

Ronnie expressed her optimism about the future of public libraries both as a resource of printed materials but also for the opportunities afforded by digital technologies.^[17] She was a champion for public libraries as focal points in their communities, advocating that they be located where people are. She likened them to supermarkets with self-service and labelled items but with the additional feature of help when customers need it.^[6] In awarding her an honorary doctorate, David Skegg, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Otago, recognised her commitment to high quality and accessible library services, her leadership in the library profession and her scholarship.^[7]

Death

Ronnie died in Dunedin on 17 March 2023, at the age of 96.^[4]

Honours and awards

In 1977, Ronnie was awarded the Queen Elizabeth II Silver Jubilee Medal.^[18] In the 1982 Queen's Birthday Honours, she was appointed a Companion of the Queen's Service Order for public services.^[19] She was conferred an honorary Doctorate of Literature (LittD) by the University of Otago in 2007,^[7][20] and received a Dunedin Public Libraries Citation in 2007.^[21]

References

1. Millen, Julia (22 October 2014). "Mary Ronnie, National Librarian, 1978". Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
2. Traue, J. E., ed. (1978). Who's Who in New Zealand (11th ed.). Wellington: Reed. p. 235. ISBN 0-589-01113-8.
3. Ronnie, Mary (1986). "A Scot and a New Zealander". In Clark, Margaret (ed.). Beyond expectations: fourteen New Zealand women write about their lives. Wellington: Allen & Unwin. pp. 51–68. ISBN 0868616508.
4. "World's first woman national librarian, Mary Ronnie, dies at 96". RNZ News. 18 March 2023. Archived from the original on 18 March 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2023.
5. Ronnie, Mary (1998). ""The Steel Girder and the Fairy Godmother" in Dorothy Neal White: a tribute". Notes, Books, Authors. 7: 7–16. ISSN 0114-5428.
6. Callan, Louise (November 1984). "Mary Ronnie: lioness of the library". Auckland Metro. 41: 46–48, 51–66. ISSN 0111-5618.
7. "Honorary Doctorate for Library Leader". Library Life. 314: 10. June 2007.
8. Millen, Julia (2010). Te Rau Herenga, a century of library life in Aotearoa: the New Zealand Library Association & LIANZA, 1910–2010. Wellington: LIANZA. p. 224. ISBN 9780473175795. OCLC 678530571.
9. Ronnie, Mary (September 2000). "Memories of Otago and Southland libraries and librarians: an unmethodical wander". New Zealand Libraries. 49 (3): 79–82.
10. Ronnie, Mary (1952). A history of Wellington public libraries. Unpublished typescript. OCLC 153923879.
11. Ronnie, Mary (September 2001). "McEwan days: the early life of Dunedin Public Library". New Zealand Libraries. 49 (5): 180–184, 187.
12. Ronnie, Mary (April 2009). "Dunedin Public Library and the Freedom to Read". The New Zealand library & information management journal Ngā pūrongo. 51 (2): 121–132.
13. Ronnie, Mary A. (2008). Freedom to read : a centennial history of Dunedin Public Library. [Dunedin, N.Z.]: Dunedin Public Libraries. ISBN 9780473134624. OCLC 262462995. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
14. Ronnie, Mary (September 1990). "The National Library Act: the birth of an institution". New Zealand Libraries. 46 (6): 3–6.
15. Ronnie, Mary A. (1993). Books to the people : a history of regional library services in New Zealand. Clayton Vic., Australia: New Zealand Library Association in conjunction with Ancora Press, Graduate Dept. of Librarianship, Archives and Records, Monash University. ISBN 0868620165. OCLC 31093760.
16. Ronnie, Mary A.; Evans, John; Rainey, Melvyn D. (1996). Education for librarianship in New Zealand and the Pacific Islands. London: Mansell. ISBN 0720121795. OCLC 33983584.
17. Gibb, John (1 December 2010). "Optimistic about future of libraries". Otago Daily Times. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 27 June 2019.
18. Taylor, Alister; Coddington, Deborah (1994). Honoured by the Queen – New Zealand. Auckland: New Zealand Who's Who Aotearoa. p. 432. ISBN 0-908578-34-2.
19. "No. 49010". The London Gazette (3rd supplement). 12 June 1982. p. 41.
20. "Honorary graduates". University of Otago Calendar (PDF). University of Otago. 2019. p. 118. Archived (PDF) from the original on 9 May 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
21. "Library citation – Mary Ronnie". Dunedin Public Libraries. 2007. Archived from the original on 22 June 2019. Retrieved 7 July 2019.