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Hi this is jennifer. I am the branch manager from the Spring Branch memorial library. I'm here with Maria. She is the assistant branch manager at the Spring branch Memorial library and she is the longest serving employee of Harris County. And she has been with Harris County

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for 46 years. And so we thought we would go ahead and ask her a few questions about what she's seen over the years. So Maria, what exactly did you start with Harris County Public Library? Well I started in 74 but I took a year off to

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get my masters. So I've been at Spring Branch Memorial since 1977 since November 1977. So what made you want to be a librarian as a teenager growing up in a small town. Uh The library was my favorite summer activity besides hanging out with my friends. So

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I would check out books and uh I was always drawn to reading into the library and uh that was what got me started. What changes have you seen in libraries over the years? The biggest change that we have seen our world of course changing into everything

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being automated. Uh It goes for libraries also um the automation, we have gone from a uh card catalog and shelf list files to where we are today, where everything is, is like I have said automated and also the internet that has uh played a huge role

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in libraries and what changes have you seen in Harris County public library specifically. Uh The fact that programming has come to the forefront which it did not used to be used to be a I like 11 program maybe a month or something. And now it's just

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the daily activity, so reaching out the community in different ways than we used to before. Now, this is a funny question. How many branch managers or librarians have you worked with? I have worked with 11 branch managers, five of which are men and 46 are women

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And I have learned something from all. The 11th. So that has been a big education for me. What do you love about working for the library? What I've always loved the best is collection uh development to fit and suit uh the customers at this location. I

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have been part of building. What I believe is was and is uh a superb collection. And uh when I'm able to put the right books on uh for Children, teens or adults, that gives me great satisfaction. Okay, now what is the hardest reference question you've had

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to answer? Mhm. There have been so many reference questions and because I started before everything was automated, no google or anything research that at that time seemed very very hard because I had to work on it a long time now is at the up at your

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fingertips. But I can't tell you some of the hardest wants that perhaps we were not able to answer? How much do people spend in Houston malls? I wasn't able to answer that. And can you show me where the books on demolitions of buildings are? And of

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course being a a small sized neighborhood library, we wouldn't have something like that. I might be able to answer those today, but I couldn't in the past and also the Life uh the Life Cycle of Dragons. That was funny. What has been your favorite program that

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the library has hosted? I think my favorite one was one of the most popular if you're talking about adult programs. Uh Soon after I started, it was in conjunction with the Museum of Fine Arts Houston and it was a film that was shown to go along

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with an exhibit that they had an impressionist if I remember correctly. I believe it was Cezanne. We filled the meeting room up to capacity 50 people and had a line out the door. So that film had to be shown twice and filled up the room twice

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and it spoke volumes as to the interest in this particular community at that period of time. Fine arts has always been high interest here. Is there anything that you miss from when you first started working with Harris County Public Library? We were much smaller as far

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as the number of employees and the number of libraries and I got to know my fellow employees through the phone because we would do inter library loans and holds in a totally different way was much more personal and a lot the volume was of course a

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lot fueler but I got to know people and then it was uh nice to put a voice to a face when we would have the christmas party. Oh this is what who you are and it was nice meeting people that way. So I knew a great

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number of people through my telephone interviews. All right. Do you have any funny or fascinating stories to share with us? Um one fascinating story that is also funny is deals with this mr fisher. And he was um at the very beginning when I started working he

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was a very very old man and um who came in with a cane. He was all bent over and one day he he was very friendly with all of us. He would shake his cane in the air at us. But in a friendly way. Anyway he

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had fought in World War One which since I like history. This was amazing to me that I was actually talking to a soldier from World War One and he made a list for me of the different battles that he had been in in the different battles

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at the U. S. Was involved in overseas handwritten. And I thought well this is an empire time document for me personally and I've kept it all these years. What is your favorite type of book to read? Well it has changed through the years and right now

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I enjoy reading. Let's try that question again Since the Mcdonald, what is your favorite type of book to read? This is my tastes have changed through the years. Right now. I like reading light fiction such as mary, Kay andrews and uh of course alexander mccall smith,

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the number one ladies detective agency. I thoroughly enjoy that and be ross. Um, I enjoy that. But when sometimes I do get a little bit more serious, I enjoy reading um history particular, uh certain period of Russian history and I will also read uh biographies on

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royalty. Well, thank you so much Maria for spending this time with us and answering all these questions. And thank you for serving Harris County and Harris County Public Library for so long. We know that you are a great resource and that you've, that's you are beloved

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by the community here at Spring Branch Memorial. And we look forward to however long you want to serve here. Thank you so much for the opportunity. It's been a pleasure