Ruth Fine, President of DCLA from 1963 to 1964, left a generous bequest to the DCLA Student Loan Fund to assist future librarians. The fund has received over $178,000 from her estate. She passed away on April 23, 2000 at the age of 92.

Throughout her career, Miss Fine served as a mentor to numerous budding librarians. Her interest was always to encourage creative, talented service-oriented people to enter the field of library and information service especially in the public sector. Service to the public was her guiding principle as a librarian throughout her career.

Miss Fine received her BA in Library Service from the University of Michigan in 1929. Her first position after graduation was in the Detroit Public Library. She moved to Washington, DC and worked at the Department of Labor until she was invited to the Bureau of the Budget where she started the library. After a distinguished career, she retired in 1972 as Director of the Office of Management and Budget Library. Her honors included Phi Kappa Phi and the Director's Exceptional Service Award from the Bureau of the Budget.

A lifetime member of Special Libraries Association and an SLA DC Chapter President in 1962-1963, she also made a bequest to the SLA Scholarship Fund. The bulk of her $900,000 estate went to the University of Michigan Library School for scholarships. Her philanthropy will benefit many library school students.