b. Feb. 6, 1908, Brandon, MB; d. June 29, 1966, Calgary, AB

Mary Donaldson, nd. Credit Canadian Library Association

1928 BA (University of Alberta)
1929 BLS (University of Toronto)

1929–1931 Cataloguer, Toronto Public Library
1931–1940 Cataloguer, Edmonton Public Library
1940–1944 Head of Circulation, Edmonton Public Library
1944–1945 Head Cataloguer, University of Saskatchewan
1945–1951 Chief Assistant, Saskatoon Public Library
1951–1966 Provincial Librarian, Saskatchewan

Donaldson, Mary (1949). “UNESCO-IFLA international school for librarians.” Saskatchewan Library Association Bulletin 2: 3–4.

Donaldson, Mary (1954). “What Is a Provincial Library? [Saskatchewan].” Ontario Library Review 38 (2): 89–91.

Donaldson, Mary (1955). “Saskatchewan [library growth].” Canadian Library Association Bulletin 11 (6): 306–307

Donaldson, Mary (1956). “The Year Ahead [1956–1957].” In Proceedings of the Canadian Library Association 11th Annual Conference Meeting, Niagara Falls, June 11–15 , 1956, pp. 5–6. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association.

Donaldson, Mary (1957). “Presidential Address.” In Proceedings of the Canadian Library Association 12th Annual Meeting, Victoria, June 11–15, 1957, pp. 3–6. Ottawa: Canadian Library Association.

Donaldson, Mary (1961). “National conference on adult education, October 29–November 1, 1961.” Saskatchewan Library Association Bulletin 15 (1): 8–9.

Donaldson, Mary (1965). “Regional libraries in Canada.” Library Trends13 (3): 318–327

President, Saskatchewan Library Association, 1947–1948
President, Canadian Library Association, 1956–1957
American Library Association, councillor 1963–66
Institute of Professional Librarians of Ontario
Canadian Federation of University Women
United Nations Association

After her death, the Saskatchewan Library Association established a Mary Donaldson Trust and began providing a public Memorial Lecture Series to honour her memory in 1967. These annual lectures are given by leaders in the field of library science or related fields. In 1977, the Mary Donaldson Award of Merit was established by the SLA to recognize support workers and the essential services that they perform in Saskatchewan libraries. A listing of lectures from 1967 to the present is available at https://www.saskla.ca/professional-development/sla-awards-student-bursaries/mary-donaldson-award-of-merit [Accessed Oct. 12, 2021].

“Miss Donaldson was one of the most highly respected librarians in Canada. As provincial librarian, she was dedicated and loyal and gave strong leadership in providing library service to rural areas and in developing community and regional libraries. Her death is a tragic loss to the province and to the library world.” — Hon. George Trapp, Minister of Education, Saskatchewan, 1966.

Canadian Who’s Who 1958–1961
ELA biography compiled by Lorne Bruce