Josephine Adelaide Clark was born in Weston, Massachusetts on March 9, 1856 to John and Caroline (Derby) Clark. She came to Smith College in the fall of 1876 after teaching at Waltham High School following her graduation in 1873. Josephine was a member of the second graduating class from Smith, and earned her B.A. in 1880. After graduation she held numerous teaching jobs until her focus switched to library work in 1888, when she entered the library school at Columbia College in New York City. Josephine later became the assistant librarian at Gray Herbarium at Harvard University, where her knowledge and love of botany offered her great assistance. In September of 1891, she took the position of Botanical Bibliographer for the Division of Botany within the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Two years later she was appointed as the Assistant Librarian for the whole department, and in 1901 accepted the position of Head Librarian for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. In June of 1907, Josephine returned to Smith College where she served as Librarian until her resignation in 1919. She died of pneumonia on March 24, 1929 in her home in Claremont, CA.