Mary L. Jones was the Los Angeles City Librarian until she was fired in 1905 to be replaced by a man, Charles Fletcher Lummis.
She delivered a letter to the Board saying that she refused to resign simply to make way for a man: “At first it was my inclination immediately to yield to the request relayed upon me by the president.
Ever since the adoption of the present city charter, the library has been presided over by a woman with a staff of assistants composed exclusively of women.
"[3] There ensued a lengthy debate among city leaders, women's clubs, the press, and librarians nationwide over the legality of her dismissal.
"[5] After her firing, Jones left L.A. to work in Berkeley and at Bryn Mawr College outside Philadelphia, PA. She returned in 1920 to help set up the new L.A. County library system.