Pauline Short Robinson

Pauline Short Robinson (1915–1997) was an American librarian and civil rights activist. She was the first African American to be hired as a librarian in the city of Denver, Colorado. During her 36-year career with the Denver Public Library system, she worked in several branches and served as Coordinator of Children Services for 15 years. In 1996 the Denver Public Library named a newly built branch in Northeast Park Hill in her honor. She was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.

Early life Pauline Short was born in Gay, Oklahoma, in 1915.

She married in 1940. After earning her university degree, she left Denver with her husband, who was serving in the army; they returned in 1945.

Library career Upon her return to Denver, Robinson discovered that the Community Vocational Center Library was in dire shape. The reading program had been discontinued, library patronage had dropped, and the Denver Public Library was planning to shutter the facility. Robinson and local school principals lobbied for a new library. The Denver Public Library responded by building a new Cosmopolitan Branch Library in Five Points in 1945 and appointed Robinson as librarian. Robinson became the first African-American librarian in the city. She supervised the annual summer reading program for the Denver Public Library and also assisted in the writing of a grant that brought the Reading is Fundamental literacy program to the city. She played a part in the integration of the Lakeside Amusement Park in Lakeside, Colorado. Located in the Northeast Park Hill neighborhood, the branch became part of the revitalization of Holly Square, offering popular programs such as the After School is Cool arts and crafts program for 8- to 12-year-olds, and the Pauline Robinson Book Club.

Robinson was inducted into the Blacks in Colorado Hall of Fame in 1973. She was posthumously inducted into the Colorado Women's Hall of Fame in 2000.