Cockeysville Library Volunteer Knows What Readers Like

Looking for a good read but don’t know where to start? Janet Jefferys has you covered.

Jefferys, 85, has worked as both an employee and a volunteer in the library system for 37 years. Now, as a member of the Cockeysville Library readers’ advisory board, she helps locals pick out new, popular and, most importantly, engaging books.

“She does such a good job,” librarian Carolyn Nicoll said. “She knows what people like.”

After working at library branches in Atlanta, Boston, Florida and Maryland, Jefferys has a good sense of what interests readers.

“You can, of course, get a good idea of what’s popular by looking at best-sellers lists in newspapers,” she said. “But after a while you start hearing certain names, titles over and over again. James Patterson, Stuart Woods. You get accustomed to it. So when I see a new release, I make sure to take note.”

But what’s popular isn’t always to Jeffereys’ taste.

“There are just some types of books that a lot of people like,” she said. “There’s Danielle Steel—I don’t want to read it, but I know people like it, so I’ll suggest it.”

Many of Jefferys’ selections turn up in the library’s book displays. And she couldn’t be happier with her duties.

“I enjoy the work immensely,” said Jefferys, who also spent a year working at the Towson Library when the Cockeysville branch underwent renovations. “I’ve been lucky to do this work that I love for so long.”

So what’s Jefferys’ latest recommendation?

“'The Help’ by Kathryn Stockett.”