Mary Gillgannon, Laramie County Library System’s Fiction Collection Development Coordinator, retired at the end of April after a 32-year career with the library. Mary began working at the Central Ave. library in the spring of 1990 as a Circulation Desk Assistant. After ten years, she moved into a new position assisting with the library’s Fiction Collection Development. She took on additional responsibilities when she began her role as a Senior Circulation Assistant and in 2006 Mary was promoted to the Fiction Collection Development Coordinator.
In her role, Mary expertly managed the library’s collection of fiction items while also providing readers’ advisory services via curated reading lists and one-on-one consultations. She was renowned for her ability to recommend new authors and titles and she helped a countless number of people with all of their library-related needs while working on desk.
When asked what she would miss most about working at the library, Mary answered that she would miss the people. “Reading reviews, ordering books and being connected to the fiction world was a lot of fun, but my favorite part of my job has been interacting with the patrons.” She explained that she thoroughly enjoyed seeing library visitors come in for the first time as toddlers and spend their life in the library, ultimately coming back in with kids of their own. She also paid tribute to her co-workers which she called, “wonderful.”
When reflecting on what she thought was the best part of Laramie County Library System, she said, “we are here to help people and to provide information and entertainment for free and that’s a pretty amazing thing in our modern transactional society.”
Mary was an instrumental part in making each and every visitor feel welcome when they walked through the library’s doors and she went to great lengths to expand and improve the library’s readers’ advisory system. Thanks to her hard work, the library now has an efficient and detailed system for recommending new authors, titles, and series to a wide array of readers.
Mary summed up her 32 years of dedicated service with an apt and succinct comment, “I’ve always said working for the library was the perfect job for me, because I spend my days surrounded by books and the people who love them. What could be better?”
Laramie County Library System wishes Mary the very best as she turns the next chapter and begins her well-deserved retirement.