Betty Jones was born on the 10th of August 1912 in Camberley and attended Kensington High School between 1923 and 1931. She attended Girton College between 1931 and 1934, reading Classics, during which time she volunteered in the College Library and won several prizes and scholarships. She then attended the School of Librarianship, University College London, 1934-35, and received a diploma in librarianship in 1938. She worked as a librarian for several institutions both in the UK and abroad, including the League of Nations Union and the British Council. She died in June 1971.