American Museum of Natural History Research Library
author: American Museum of Natural History

Root, Nina J.
Nina J. Root was the Director of the Library at the American Museum of Natural History. Prior to joining the Museum in 1970, she worked at CUNY, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, the Library of Congress and the American Institute of Aerospace and Aeronautics. She served on the advisory council for the NY State Board of Regents, the boards of the Metro library association, the Mercantile Library, and the Hampden-Booth Library. Throughout her career, Nina was involved in numerous professional organizations, including the American Library Association, the Special Libraries Association and the Society for the History of Natural History and the New York Academy of Sciences.
Under Nina’s direction, the Photographic Collection, Archives, Art, Memorabilia and Film Collections were consolidated in the Library. The Library’s world-class conservation lab was a result of Nina’s campaign for preservation of collections. She authored many journal articles during her 27-year tenure at the Museum, mostly focusing on the Library collections and the Museum’s history. In the years leading up to her retirement from the AMNH in 1997, Nina worked to fundraise for a new library building, including leading a round-the-world, month-long tour by private jet, and proudly saw the Library collections moved into its new facility in 1993. Nina died June 24, 2017, after a short illness.