The New York Public Library

This chapter discusses Regina's decades-long battle with the New York Public Library (NYPL). For all that she was doing for the NYPL, Regina believed that she was neither being paid a wage that recognized her contributions nor being afforded the opportunities for promotion she deserved. Her relationship with Ernestine Rose deteriorated as Regina frequently asked W. E. B. Du Bois, representing the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to intervene on her behalf with the NYPL administration. In order to understand Du Bois' involvement with Regina, the chapter examines his earlier dispute with the NYPL administration on behalf of librarian Catherine Latimer—the first African American librarian in the system. Du Bois was particularly galled by the situation at NYPL, which limited African American librarians to a few branches.