Background
Patterson was born in 1931 and raised in southwestern Oklahoma, on a Native American land allotment near the town of Apache, Oklahoma.
Patterson was born in 1931 and raised in southwestern Oklahoma, on a Native American land allotment near the town of Apache, Oklahoma.
She went to college at the Oklahoma College for Women and earned a Bachelor of Science degree (Bachelor of Science) in 1959. She received her Masters of Library Science (Master of Library Science) from the University of Oklahoma in 1969. In 1979, she completed her Doctor of Philosophy.in al Technology.
During her graduate studies she focused on procuring money for training librarians on how to work productively with Native American students and in selecting Native American materials of high quality.
She has written numerous articles on collection development, tribal libraries and Native American Librarianship. She started her professional career as a teacher in a rural public school (Boone) without a library. She taught at Riverside Indian School as well.
These experiences led her to commit her professional life to determining the library needs of Native Americans and developing tribal libraries throughout the nation.
Patterson is a University of Oklahoma Professor Emeritus of Library and Information Studies and as of 2009, a member of the board for the National Museum of Library Sciences.