 Norton was posthumously recognized in the December 1999 "American Libraries" article naming "100 of the most important leaders we had in the 20th century" for her influence on the archival profession.Norton promoted the establishment of archives as a profession separate from history or library science and developed the American archival tradition to emphasize an administrator/archivist rather than an historian/archivist.She encouraged learning through experimentation, practical usage, and community discussion.