Meet Miss Mary Jo from the Gates Public Library

My Hometown Neighbors

Meet Miss Mary Jo from the Gates Public Library

by Daniel Hoock

If you have ever visited the children’s section of the Gates Public Library, there is a good chance you know Miss Mary Jo. When you first meet her, you are immediately drawn to her eclectic personality. There is absolutely no doubt that she was put on this Earth to be a children’s librarian. This year, she will be celebrating her 40th year in the profession (the last 34 of them spent in Gates). She is friendly, seemingly always has a smile on her face, and is completely against the stereotype that the library should be a “quiet” place.

Mary Jo grew up in Henrietta. She had a love of books at a young age, which is not a surprise to hear a librarian say. She also won a few poetry awards while she was in high school. This led to her majoring in English at SUNY Geneseo. She remembers taking a few library science classes during her first couple of years at Geneseo as being instrumental in her decision to attend graduate school in Buffalo to get her MLS (Master’s in Library Science).

She landed her first professional job in New Briton, Connecticut. At that time, filmstrips, 45s, and comics were popular among library patrons. A few years later, she took a new position in Farmington, Connecticut. Mary Jo and her husband enjoyed life there, but when a children’s librarian job opened up in Gates in 1988, they were thrilled at the opportunity to move back home. Clearly, they made the right move; she holds the same position to this day.

There is no question that Mary Jo loves her job. Everything in the children’s section has her stamp on it – from the selection of books to the puzzles and toys to the Early Learning Center (an area she lists among her top career accomplishments). She has played a major role in everything you see. Walking into the children’s area is like entering a colorful world that you would only find in picture books. Even on the rare occasions when Mary Jo is having a bad day (happens to the best of us, right?), she says that her interactions with the children can change that in an instant. She even described a philosophy about how books help us to understand people better, which can then help to make the world a kinder place.

You get the sense that Mary Jo could talk about books for hours. Perhaps that sounds cliche, but a glow radiates from her when she begins to educate me on some of her favorite books. At the top of her list is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak. She calls it a “perfect” story and, after hearing her describe it page by page, I immediately went to the shelf to check it out. She also recommends anything written by Mo Willems. Our book conversation bounced from Magic Treehouse to Harry Potter to her childhood

Mary Jo in 1989. Miss Mary Jo has been the children’s librarian in Gates for 34 years.

love of Pippi Longstocking. When the question came up as to what fictional character she would most want to be, you could see the wheels in her head spinning. Eventually, she settled on Alice from Alice in Wonderland, in large part because of the magical world that was created by Lewis Carroll. We also discussed whether she had ever considered writing her own children’s book. After a smile and a long pause, the answer was no. Mary Jo explained that it was too hard to imagine herself being able to live up to all the amazing stories that have already been written.

Outside of work, Mary Jo clearly loves the arts (singing, movies, live music, theater), but also spends a lot of time in more active pursuits. She enjoys traveling, biking, and working out at the gym. She lives with her husband, Andy, and has two children, Madelein (age 32) and Luke (age 22). Talking about them is the other topic that matches her enthusiasm for books.

There will come a day when we walk into the Gates Public Library and her desk will be occupied by someone else. It might not come anytime soon, as she seems as passionate and motivated in her 40th year as I imagine she was at the very beginning of her career. When she does decide to put a final period at the end of her impressive career, Miss Mary Jo will be missed by many. I suspect though, that her legacy will live on for a very long time, just like a storybook character from one of her favorite books.