Librarians of the Past - Mildred Allen Moore

Mildred A. Moore

Mildred A. Moore was born on December 9, 1924 in Louisville, Kentucky.  Dr. George V. Moore, her father influenced her decision to attend the University of Kentucky.  He graduated with a Master’s degree in 1929, and she in 1946 with a Bachelor’s of Arts in History. 

While a student at UK, Mildred was active in the social sorority, Zeta Tau Alpha.  The Kentuckian  yearbook displays the ZTA composite pages.  Between 1943 and 1946, there are images of her as a freshman pledge through her active senior year.  The Freshman Club was part of her college activities, and this group was organized for freshmen interested in either Y.M.C.A. or Y.W.C.A. work.  Her campus activities are listed with her senior picture.  She was elected as secretary of the ZTA sorority, a member of the Young Women’s Christian Association (Y.W.C.A.), the Dutch Lunch Club, and served on the Interfaith Council.  In 1931, the Dutch Lunch Club was founded on the campus in order to provide an opportunity for female students who lived in Lexington or commuted to participate in the Y.W.C.A. programs.   Mildred’s yearbook pictures are charming with the fashionable longer hair during her first three years and after World War II, the short coiffure in 1946.


Mildred received her Master’s degree from the George Peabody Teacher’s College which currently comprises Vanderbilt University’s College of Education.  After graduating from Peabody, Miss Moore worked in the Kansas State University, Auburn University Libraries, and in 1952 was hired in the University of Kentucky Engineering Library.  She was the Engineering librarian until 1966 when she directed the UK Biological Science library.  Miss Moore retired from the same library in 1988.

Mildred Moore's yearbook entry as a senior

During her tenure in the UK Libraries Department, she was elected as the1958 President of the Lexington Library Association.  One of her hobbies was travel, and in 1958, she was part of a tour led by Mr. and Mrs. Claude Sullivan to Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Greece and Italy.  Her interest in music and antiques was aided by membership in the Woman’s Club of Central Kentucky, and she served annually as a WCCK committee member. 

Mildred Allen Moore passed away on December 17, 2011.

Story by Nancy DeMarcus