Mary Dalton Celebrates 31 Years At Library

On Aug. 27, Children's Librarian Mary Dalton celebrated a 31-year career mentoring  young readers, a literary sherpa whose young charges returned from their inner journeys grown and grateful.

Her retirement party in the back conference room of the Wellesley Free Library's Children's department drew a steady stream of well-wishers and old friends.

"You helped them grow up," said Sharon Mintz, whose children, Eden, 15 and Harrison, 13, were introduced to the world of fantasy fiction at a young age with Dalton's guidance toward "The Secret of Platform 13",  by Eva Ibbotson, whose 1994 tome predated the first Harry Potter novel by three years. The work is also better suited to younger readers than Harry Potter, Mintz said. "I think a lot of kids were reading Harry Potter too early," Mintz said.

"I'm going to miss keeping up with children's literature," Dalton said.

Michelle Brown showed up to share cake and memories with Dalton, too. "We've known Mary for 13 years," Brown said. With her were her daughter, Amanda, 9, and Grace Mongeau, 8.

"How long have I known her?" asked Grace. 

"All your life," Michelle replied.

"Whoo-hoo!" Grace said.

Amanda and Grace praised Dalton's ability in helping them pick out the right book during their visits, as well as her prowess in running the Book Club for fourth and fifth-graders. The books and the discussions were always interesting, Grace said, "And you get a snack after."

"We're really going to miss Book Club," Amanda said.

Members of the Wall family, Marion, James, 15, and Julia, 13, also stopped by during the party. "The Walls were a big part of our Book Club," said Dalton.

"She was a really nice person," Julia said, and, said, James, "She had good choices for food after the Book Club." When they started visiting Dalton at the library, Marion said, Julia was in first grade, and James was in third grade.

"This family I have really seen grow up," Dalton said.

Anne Bae said she brought all her children to the library, where Dalton helped them develop their reading habits. Now, two of them are attorneys, one is a teacher and another is in finance. "So I think she did a good job," Bae said.

Jill Griffin from the Association of Wellesley Family Child Care, (which Dalton worked with during her time at the library) stopped in with a gift for Mary - a set of Pottery Barn alphabet blocks. "What a nice, thoughtful gift," Dalton said. 

Dalton said she'll miss her friends and the families she's worked with over the years, "But I'm looking forward to having time to do things I haven't had the time to do," she said.

Still, she said, she intends to visit the library often, though now it'll be socially.