Charlton, who had recently completed a summer course at Amherst College in the newly developed field of librarianship, and is thought to have studied under Melvil Dewey, came to this library in 1895.

She remained at the McGill Medical Library in this position until 1914, when she resigned under less than happy circumstances, and moved to Toronto as Librarian of the Academy of Medicine.

One of the other founding members, Marcia Crocker Noyes (who was to become the first woman and first non-physician President of the Association in 1933), writes of Margaret Charlton as follows: In 1922 she left the Academy of Medicine, also under less than happy circumstances,[citation needed] and returned to Montreal to live with her sisters.

(Grave H31 in section H.) Margaret Ridley Charlton Award for Outstanding Achievement At the winter 2004 meeting of the Canadian Health Libraries Association /Association des bibliothèques de la santé du Canada Board of Directors, it was decided to rename the Award for Outstanding Achievement in honour of Margaret Ridley Charlton.

In September 2003 the Minister of Canadian Heritage, Sheila Copps, approved the Board's recommendation, and Charlton has been added to the list of approximately 600 other "persons of national historic significance".